


Ashes Upon Ashes

by Protegoparacosm



Category: The Walking Dead (Telltale Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Superheroes/Superpowers, Angst, F/F, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, background louis/aasim, it’s a whole batch of cookies up in this fic, lee is her adoptive father, so that's that, superhero!clem, superhero!clementine, there's a lot to unpack here
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-04-28
Updated: 2019-09-12
Packaged: 2020-02-08 16:07:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 27,743
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18626623
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Protegoparacosm/pseuds/Protegoparacosm
Summary: The trip to Washington Corporations was supposed to be fun in an educational way. Yet that wasn't how it ended up being like. Clementine Everett woke up with strange things happening to her. Things that she couldn’t quite explain or consider normal. Were they powers? Whatever they were, she might as well do some good with them because Atlanta has a big storm coming, and it's going to turn the city and everyone into ashes.





	1. Clementine has a bad day

**Author's Note:**

> Me? Finishing the first chapter of this fic? It's more likely than you think.

Clementine had a bad feeling about this field trip. Something in her told her to fake being sick, to tell Mr. Everett—her adoptive father—that she wasn’t feeling so good but she never did. The ride to the labs of Washington Corporations was full of bustling kids from her science class and a few swear words here and there. She didn’t know everyone but everyone knew her. Clementine Everett was the star player of the baseball team and practically the queen bee of whatever high school teen movie she was in, except she wasn’t mean like those girls.

“Clem, are you alright?” A male voice asked from beside her. She turned towards the source of the voice and saw her childhood best friend Gabe Garcia.

“Yea… yea, I’m fine.”

“Are you sure? You’re acting kind of spacey.”

Clementine wouldn’t call it spacey, more like lost in her own paranoid thoughts. When she read the waiver and signed it with Lee she was thrilled. A tour of the science labs that are owned by Louis Washington’s parents? Sign her up! But now she wasn’t so sure about the whole thing. She just felt like something bad was going to happen.

Clementine sighed, adjusting her baseball cap in the process. “I’m fine, Gabe. Don’t worry about me.”

In the front of the bus, a teacher got up and clapped his hands to gain the attention of the rowdy teenagers. “Alright, kids, listen to me!”

The teacher was Coach Kenny Williams, the father of Duck Williams, another one of Clementine’s childhood best friends. Kenny was a man in his early 50s. He had a bushy black beard that was graying and soft brown eyes. He was also Lee’s best friend, so it was natural for him to come along to help watch everyone.

“We’re about to be at Washington Corporations in five minutes! I want everyone to be on their best behavior and, for the love of God, _don’t_ touch anything! I mean it!” He shouted so everyone could hear.

Suddenly, a mischievous yet cheerful laugh was heard behind Clementine. She turned around and saw Louis Washington laughing a few rows back and nudging his very unamused best friend, Violet Johnson.

“Hey, Coach!” Louis shouted with a large grin. “Can you speak a little louder? I can’t hear you!”

“Louis, I swear if-“ Violet was cut off by a loud shrill noise coming from the whistle Kenny picked up a little too enthusiastically.

He cleared his throat and opening his mouth to speak but instead of words, out came the chorus to Cotton-Eyed Joe. All the kids on the bus laughed as Kenny looked around confused. He tried speaking again but the song just continued. The lightbulb seemed to have went off in his head, he slammed his fist onto his seat and looked directly at Louis who had his phone out.

“WASHINGTON!”

“Ruh-roh!” Louis replied.

Violet punched him in the arm and scoffed. “Stop it.”

Clementine heard Gabe groan and turned to him. “What’s got you all worked up?”

“Louis,” the eldest Garcia kid answered. “He’s always so carefree and acts like a class clown the entire time. He’s probably going to get special treatment since we’re visiting the company his parents owned for years.”

“Why do you hate him exactly?”

“I don’t hate him. He just gets on my nerves.”

“Maybe if you tried talking to him then you two would be good friends.”

Gabe was silent for a moment then sighed. “You’re probably right, but that’s gonna have to wait for another day. For now, I want to see some cool science shit with my best friend.”

Clementine chuckled. “You’re a nerd, Garcia.”

“I’m also your best friend. Now as your best friend, I must ask you this: Have you found a date to prom yet?”

Clementine completely forgot about prom. At first she didn’t plan on going, but then Gabe and Duck said that if she found a date and had a successful prom with them then the two boys would give her twenty bucks and take her to a movie of her choice. Turning it into a competition flipped a switch in the girl and she’s been trying to figure out who to take ever since. No one has caught her eye yet, but she’ll be damned if she wasted over a hundred dollars on her dress just to stay home in her pajamas and watch H2O on Netflix.

“No,” she answered. “Not yet.”

“Well you need to find a date soon. It’s in two weeks.”

Clementine knew she would have to find a date soon, but with schoolwork and all of her anxieties combined, she didn’t have the time. As the bus pulled into the parking lot of the labs, Clem’s worries resurfaced. She knew it was supposed to be a fun trip for everyone else, but for her it was a nightmare waiting to happen.

~~

Calling the labs of Washington Corporations big was a severe understatement. The place was ginormous. Clementine couldn’t believe how high the ceilings were and how much space that was in the underground labyrinth of scientific research. It was like its own little world deep underground. It was like Narnia or an IKEA. Everyone got lost in IKEA so it was more like that place to Clementine, except there were numerous labs instead of furniture with Swedish names that no one could understand.

All around the visiting teenagers were scientists in white lab coats, all too preoccupied with their work to notice them. The technology around them was so high tech that the kids had to stop and stare for a few moments. Many experiments were going on, some involving molecules, some trying to figure out the atom balance of mice, others focusing on God knows what. Corridors branched from the room they were in and led to other areas of the labs. The scientist that was their guide led them down one corridor and the teens watched as they passed by the plasma wall. Some kids ran their hands on the wall and watched in awe as the energy tendrils followed them like bees to honey.

“Here we do tons of experiments relating to the topics of natural sciences and social sciences,” the tour guide explained.

Much of what the guide was explaining was too difficult for Clementine to keep up with. The young man said some stuff about Ethylene Oxide, Quantum Mechanics, the Hedgehog Pathway, and other things. The sixteen year old saw that her fellow classmates were also confused.

“Uh, sir,” a red-haired boy raised his hand. “When are we going to mess with stuff?”

“You’re banned from my kitchen, I wouldn’t trust you with all this stuff,” His friend bluntly said from beside him. That made the class chuckle.

The tour guide gave a look that said ‘oh no’. “Um, I’m not sure if there’s anything you can help out with or watch…”

Louis then raised his hand. “Peter, I’m sure my parents have a room full of things somewhere.”

“A room that we will not go into. Nice try, Louis.”

“Well at least show my BFF Violet,” Louis threw his arm over her shoulder and got in close to pinch her cheek. “The Astronomy room.”

Peter rubbed his temples. “Louis, you know the Astronomy room is closed for experimentation. So the answer is no. Come on kids let’s keep moving!”

The group followed Peter as he led them wherever. Clementine glanced over at Violet and saw her rubbing her cheek and glaring at Louis. She knew the blonde wasn’t exactly the one to enjoy being the center of attention, so Louis’s act must’ve embarrassed her.

“I can’t believe he said that,” Gabe groaned.

Clementine turned her attention to him. “Said what?”

“...the abbreviation for Best Friend Forever… I got second-hand embarrassment from that.”

That did it for the girl. She bust out laughing at her best friend’s words. Everyone stopped and turned to look at her. Someone cleared her throat and she looked up to see her father giving her a stern look.

“Clem,” Lee warned.

“Sorry, dad…”

It was Clementine’s turn to be embarrassed this time. The group kept moving but she walked with her head and baseball cap hung low to hide her red face. The group stopped at a glass wall looking into some sort of greenhouse full of tropical plants. The tour guide rambled on happily as the teens looked as if they couldn’t care less for the plants.

Clementine sighed and turned to look over at Louis and Violet to see if Louis was doing anything funny, only to find them gone. She whipped her head around to find them and saw Louis practically dragging Violet around a corner.

“Gabe,” Clem whispered.

“Hmm?”

“Come on.”

“What?”

The girl grabbed the wrist of the Garcia boy and snuck away from the group. She dragged him around the corner she saw Louis and Violet go around and saw the two entering a room at the end of the hallway.

“Oh he is so dead!” Gabe sneered. He then took off in a sprint.

“Gabe! Wait!”

Clementine followed suit as he burst into the room. Louis and Violet whipped around, clearly startled. Violet had a panicked look but Louis had his trademark grin.

“Ah, Clementine Everett and Gabriel García! Fancy seeing you two here!” Louis exclaimed.

“Louis…” Violet spoke shakily.

Gabe stomped up to the boy and poked his chest. “Pretty bold of you to sneak away from the group, Golden Boy. Care to explain why you did it?”

“Gabe,” Clementine warned her friend. “Stop it.”

“It’s fine, Clem. I’ll answer his question,” Louis said. His expression then switched to a mixture between crestfallen and embarrassed. “Look, when Violet told me she was going on this field trip I promised her that I’d take her to see the Astronomy room. When Peter said it was off-limits, I felt bad. I felt like I broke my promise to her. I figured I’d bring her here anyway. So there. There’s your answer as to why we left the group.”

Clementine crossed her arms and gave Gabe the universal mom look. “You got anything you want to say to Louis?”

Gabe looked from Clementine to Louis and then at his shoes. “I’m sorry for not trusting you.”

“Apology accepted. Really,” Louis responded with a warm smile. “I’ll do anything for my best friend.”

He turned to Violet and gave her a thumbs up, which she responded to by giving a warm smile. He then turned back to Gabe and Clementine. “Now enjoy the ambiance of the greatest room at Washington Corporations!”

Clementine looked around the room and was in awe. There were little models of solar systems, galaxies, and the interior of numerous planets. Paintings of the zodiac signs were framed upon the walls and paired next to their respective constellations. The walls were painted to look like supernovas and the ceiling was a portrait of constellations, each of the stars twinkling as if they were real. Computers and other machinery worked away at charting astronomical occurrences.

Gabe pointed at one of the constellations on the ceiling. “Hey! Isn’t that… um…”

Violet looked to where he was pointing and smiled. “That’s Ophiuchus the Serpent-Bearer.”

“Yea! How did you know that?”

Louis chuckled. “Violet Johnson here is a mega nerd for the constellations and the Zodiac. _Especially_ the Zodiac.”

“The Zodiac huh?” Clementine said with a smirk that, unbeknownst to her, sent Violet through a loop. “What sign are you, if you don’t mind me asking.”

Violet’s face went beet red. “I’m uh… I’m a uh… a Pisces.”

“Nice. I’m a Cancer.”

“And according to this Astrology site,” Louis butted in, waving his phone a bit. “Your signs are compatible with each other! Who knows what’ll happen!”

Violet punched him in the arm with an even redder face. “Shut up!”

“Uhhh,” Gabe trailed off. “Are we missing something here?”

“No! Nothing! You’re missing nothing!” Violet replied a little too quickly.

Clementine raised an eyebrow. “If you say so…”

A glowing object behind Violet caught Clementine’s attention. She looked over her shoulder and saw a bright blue orb encased in a mason jar. She got closer and could see tiny electric bolts shooting out of it every now and then.

“Woah,” the girl gasped.

Violet came over and was quick to get a closer look at it. “Holy shit… it’s amazing!”

“What is it?” Gabe asked.

The three kids turned to Louis who just shrugged. “Don’t look at me! I only know the layout of this place, not what they do!”

The quartet turned their heads back to the bright blue orb. It wasn’t said aloud, but they all agreed that there was something different about it. Something extraordinarily powerful.

“It looks like some kind of star,” Violet said.

A camera flash and a shutter sound effect broke the trio out of their mesmerized state. They turned around and saw Louis on his phone.

“And send,” The boy spoke. He looked up and saw three glares. “What?! I told Aasim and the others that I’d send photos since they couldn’t come!”

Before anyone could say anything, loud gunshots were heard outside the doors to the Astronomy room. Terrified screams followed shortly after. Loud, booming voices commanded everyone to stay still, even though that wasn’t gonna happen at all.

“ARE PEOPLE SHOOTING?!” Gabe screamed.

Fear coated the faces of the four kids trapped in the room at the end of a dead end hallway. No one made any movement to try and hide or find a way out. They were completely paralyzed. They heard rapid footsteps inch closer to the door and that’s when their panic started to set in and cause them to take action.

“Hide!” Louis whispered.

Gabe and Louis both hid under a desk while Violet took refuge behind a model of Saturn next to the door. Clementine hid behind a filing cabinet next to the portrait of Aquarius. The footsteps stopped right outside the door and the handles jingled for a bit before the same footsteps were heard retreating. The kids slowly yet cautiously got out of their hiding spots.

“What was that all about?” Violet asked.

“I don’t know,” Clementine answered. “But we need to-“

High-pitched beeping could be heard right outside the doors. It caught them off guard at first, but they knew what it was. A bomb. The beeping got more frantic and the kids could tell it was about to explode.

“TAKE COVER!” Gabe shouted as he and Louis ran to the farthest side of the room.

Clementine’s eyes immediately found Violet. “RUN!” She ran up and shoved the blonde away from the door.

A loud explosion sounded from behind the curly haired teen. She felt her body being pushed off the ground and towards the farthest end of the room. She spun in the air, flailing her arms wildly. Her back collided with a desk and she saw the mason jar with the star up in the air. Gravity did its work and pulled it back towards the ground and before Clementine knew it, the glass shattered right next to her.

The pain was a sensation like no other. Once the star was released, it was as if Clementine’s body acted like a magnet and pulled it towards her. The star burst into a tiny electric storm and entrapped her in its grasp. She let out blood-curdling screams as the bolts shocked her over and over with an intensity like no other, each one making her have seizure-like jolts. Her head was pounding, her flesh stung, and her blood felt like someone poured gasoline in it and lit a match. Breathing became difficult for her as the pain worsened. Her ears rung and her vision started getting spotty. The electric tendrils stopped their attack and she stared up at the ceiling, her eyelids severely heavy.

“CLEMENTINE!” A distant voice screamed.

The last thing she saw was Violet’s scared face through blurry vision. Then the darkness took her.


	2. Awake and Alive

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Two chapters in a span of not even a week? Who am I exactly?
> 
> Also if anyone wants to follow me on Tumblr then you can! My blog is Protegoparacosm

White ceiling tiles filled her vision. Her body ached and her head felt like it was run over by a semi-truck. The place she was in wasn’t familiar and it put her on edge. She heard beeping coming from beside her and became aware of the pulse oximeter on her finger. She was in the hospital. She groaned and reached up to rub her head, her arm screaming in protest.

“Sweetpea! You’re okay!”

She turned her head and saw Lee. He looked like he hadn’t slept in days. There were bags under his eyes and his clothes were disheveled. His eyes were red and puffy as if he has been crying. He looked terrible and the sight hurt Clementine.

He grabbed Clementine’s hand and rubbed his thumb over her knuckles. “I thought I lost you, Clementine.”

A few tears escaped his eyes as he spoke. “We were still at the plant exhibit when these men dressed in black came in and started shooting. Kenny took the other kids to safety as I ran to find you. When I couldn’t find you, I got so scared. I didn’t want to lose you. I _don’t_ want to lose you.”

Clementine held his hand and smiled. “You’ll never lose me, Lee.”

“I’ll hold you to that, Sweetpea,” He chuckled before kissing her forehead. “Are you up for seeing your friends? They’ve been dying to see you.”

 _“Friends?”_ Clementine thought. _“Duck and Sarah are both out of town. So who else would want to see me besides Gabe?”_

Clementine nodded at Lee’s question, wanting to find out who else wanted to see her once she woke up.

“I’ll give Gabe a call and then he can come with the other two. Get some rest, it’ll be awhile before they get here,” Lee spoke warmly. He kissed her forehead once more before getting up and leaving the room to give Gabe a call.

Clementine took this moment to take a deep breath. She should have listened to her gut and not went on the field trip. She should have stayed home and watched a show or a movie on Netflix. If she did then she wouldn’t be in this hospital bed. But Violet would be dead as well. That was something that suck in Clementine’s head. If it weren’t for her, then Violet would be dead. Clementine smiled to herself, deciding that laying in a hospital bed was better than letting someone die.

Her eyelids grew heavy once more. She tried to fight it by focusing on the weird internal tingling that felt like sparks of electricity dancing in her bloodstream. Yet it wasn’t enough. Her eyelids shut tight and sleep took her for the second time that day.

~~~

“She was awake earlier but I guess she’s still tired.”

“It’s alright. Thank you, Mr. Everett.”

A door clicked shut and Clementine groaned. She opened her eyes and saw Gabe, Louis, Violet, and Brody standing near the doorway. All four of them seemed to have their eyes glued to her conscious state, wondering if what they were seeing was actually real. Brody was the first to break the silence by clearing her throat. She stepped forward hesitantly.

“Hey Clementine,” she spoke softly. “I know we never really spoke to each other, but I heard about what you did on the field trip.”

Clementine made an effort to get up into a sitting position but her body kept screaming at her to stop. Gabe and Louis ran up to help her sit up. Violet followed slowly, her head hung low and the hood of her dark purple sweatshirt up. Clementine looked back up at Brody and smiled, waiting for her to continue.

“I thought it was really brave of you,” the auburn-haired girl continued. “I was worried once I heard you were in the hospital, so I brought you these.”

The girl showed Clementine a bouquet of beautiful flowers. In the bouquet were a bunch of beautiful purple gladioli paired with white bouvardias. The bouquet was very beautiful to say the least. Clementine held her hands out and Brody gave it to her.

“They’re beautiful, Brody. Thank you,” Clementine spoke.

Gabe sat at the foot of her bed alongside Louis. The two boys stared at her with worried looks.

“What?” Clementine asked.

“We’re just worried about you,” Gabe answered.

“I’m fine, Gabe.”

Louis shook his head. “That’s a lot coming from someone who survived a bomb explosion and intense shocking from a man made star.”

“I’m fine now, you two. There’s no need to worry about me.”

The two boys shared a glance at each other and Gabe sighed. “You’re so stubborn.”

Louis looked over at Violet who was standing in a corner far away from Clementine. Her head was still hung low, as if she was trying to avoid making eye contact with anyone. The boy went over to his best friend and gently laid a hand on her bicep. He whispered something to her and she nodded after some reluctance.

“Clementine,” Louis said, catching the attention of the girl who was chatting it up with Gabe and Brody. “There’s someone who needs to speak with you. Alone.”

Brody was about to protest when she saw Violet slowly raise her head, her face having guilt all over it. “Yea, it’s important. We should leave you two alone.”

Brody grabbed Gabe by the arm and dragged him out of the room as he asked too many questions. Louis nodded to Violet as he passed her and left the room as well. Violet finally looked up at Clem and she had a sad look across her features. She slowly walked over to the hospital bed and sat at the foot where Gabe once was. Violet opened her mouth to speak but no words came out. Instead she turned her head away and covered her face with her hands.

“Violet,” Clem softly spoke. “Is something wrong?”

The blonde girl didn’t respond to her question. Clem’s eyebrows furrowed out of concern. She leaned forward and placed a hand on the girl’s shoulder. Violet flinched at the sudden contact but made no effort to move away or brush her off.

“Is something bothering you?” Clementine asked.

All of a sudden, the girl’s body started trembling. Soft sobs were heard from behind her hands. When she finally looked back at Clementine, her eyes were red and her cheeks were soaked with tears. Her lip quivered as she stared at the girl. She let out a choked sob and put her head back into her hands.

“I thought… I thought you died,” Violet sobbed.

Clementine was in shock. Here, right in front of her, was a crying Violet Johnson. The girl who always sat at the back of the class. The girl who never hung out with anyone. The girl who always looked so angry all the time. That same girl was bawling her eyes out in Clementine’s hospital room. Bawling her eyes out over her. Clementine didn’t know what to do, so she did the one thing that everyone seemed to do to try and comfort someone. She hugged her.

Violet seemed to be in shock at the fact that Clementine was hugging her, but she eased into it and hugged her back. The blonde buried her face into the curve of the brunette’s neck. Hot tears quickly coated the area between her neck and collarbone, but Clem didn’t seem to care. She let the pale blonde girl release her emotions onto her. Emotions that she seemed to have been holding in ever since the explosion.

Clementine rubbed her back as a way to console her. “It’s okay. I’m okay. I’m fine.”

“No… it’s not okay…”

“Shhh, don’t act like that. It’s all oka-“

“It’s not okay, Clementine!” Violet shouted. She raised her head up off of her and looked her in the eyes. “I nearly got you killed!”

“Vi-“

“You’ve been out for three days, Clem! Three fucking days! All throughout those three days I have felt nothing but guilt because I knew that I was the reason that you were put in the hospital, the reason that you took the impact of the explosion! The reason that you screamed so loud and in so much pain when that star shocked you to hell! It hurt me knowing that I was the cause of all of that! Can’t you see? You should be blaming me! I should be in this hospital bed, not you!”

Clementine couldn’t believe it. Violet blamed herself for her situation. She felt like she was responsible and that tore her to shreds. Not only that, but she’s been asleep for three days. Three whole days she’s been in the hospital. It was all so bizarre. The brunette noticed that Violet started to cry again so she took both of her hands into her own.

“Hey, I could never blame you. I wanted to save you so I did, it was my decision. None of this is your fault.”

“It doesn’t feel that way.”

Clementine pulled Violet into another hug and she reciprocated.

“Listen,” Clem began. “You could have died in that explosion if I didn’t save you. Do you really think I would just stand there and watch you get pushed away by some bomb? No, I could never. I did what should have been done. I’d do it again if I had to. Don’t blame yourself over this, it’s not worth it. You did nothing wrong in the first place, you just didn’t know how to respond in the situation. You were scared. It’s okay if you froze up, it’s perfectly normal. I just… I just want you to stop beating yourself up over my predicament. Okay?”

Violet sniffled and pulled away from the hug. She rubbed at her now red and puffy eyes. “Okay.”

Clementine smiled. “Good. Now, would you mind getting the others back in here so you all can catch me up on what I missed?’ 

The blonde chuckled. “Sure thing, Clem.”

~~~

The nurse typed away onto the computer as everyone in the room sat around doing their own thing. Louis brought out a deck of cards and decided to play a weird version of Twenty Questions with everyone else. Lee sat in the chair by the bed and watched with a smile at the kids had fun. The nurse stopped typing and came over to Clementine. She apologized for interrupting their card game and took Clementine’s pulse.

“It’s normal,” she informed Lee. She then turned back to Clementine. “How are you feeling, sweetie?”

Clementine felt… well… she didn’t know actually. She felt fine but yet there was still this sensation that wasn’t normal to her. It could easily be ignored but yet it was different. It was something she never felt before. 

“This is going to sound weird, but I feel tingly,” Clem answered.

“Tingly? Like in a numb way?”

“No, like there’s something just jolting around in my nerves or my bloodstream. Perhaps both.”

“...huh…”

“I also feel… weightless? In a good way. Like I’m surrounded by light and it’s making me float.”

The nurse raised her eyebrow. Clem sighed and knew that she sounded crazy, but it was the truth. She felt different in a good way. She could feel that there was something off about her now, but she didn’t know what.

“Well… all your tests said you were fine so it’s probably just your imagination,” the nurse answered awkwardly. 

Clementine felt her face drop. Of course she didn’t believe her, who would? She said a bunch of nonsense after all.

Clementine gave her cards back to Louis. “I’m done playing…”

She laid back down in bed and pulled the blanket up over her head. She could feel everyone’s stares on her but it didn’t bother her that much.

“So uh,” Lee began. “When could she come home?”

“She can go home tomorrow morning actually. You just have to sign the forms,” the nurse answered.

Lee must’ve nodded at the nurse because Clem heard her footsteps leave the room. The room fell into an awkward silence, the only noise being Louis putting his cards back into their box.

“You kids should be going,” Lee spoke. “It’s getting late.” 

The four kids didn’t say anything, all of them curious as to why Clementine got sad all of a sudden. They simply got up and left the room, each one giving Clem a worried glance beforehand. Lee placed a hand on Clementine’s shoulder and leaned down to kiss the top of her head. 

“You’re going home tomorrow, Sweetpea. Get some rest.”

The brunette closed her eyes and tried to focus on something other than the weird feeling, but it was too strong. After being told by the nurse that it was all in her head, the feeling just became more noticeable. It was almost like it was calling out to her, begging to be freed. Eventually sleep took her, and the feeling faded along with her consciousness.

~~~

“What do you mean that it wasn’t there?” A female voice seethed.

The male figure behind her shook due to fear. “It wasn’t there, ma’am! All that was left were glass shards!”

“So you’re telling me that the star grew legs and walked off? That our key to power decided to go on a fucking hike?”

“No that’s not what I’m-“

The man choked on his words when the female pulled on his shirt, lifting him off the ground.

“So then where is it?” She growled.

The man raised his hands up in a surrendering motion. “There was a girl! When the bomb went off she crashed into the jar that the star was in and it shocked the hell out of her! She must’ve absorbed it.”

The female scowled and dropped the man. “Then find the girl and bring her to me. She’s the key to our plan and she will help us whether she likes it or not.”


	3. Strange Events

Clementine never thought she’d say this, but she was ready to go back to school. Being in the hospital for nearly an entire week just made the girl miss the hallways full of bustling teenagers and her classes. Yet no matter how much she was ready to go back, she still slept through her alarm.

The cursed beeping was every human’s worst nightmare. The beeping that screamed “GET YOUR ASS UP OR BE LATE AND RUIN YOUR ENTIRE LIFE!” and gave everyone a sense of disappointment. She heard the beeping and reached for her phone, shutting her alarm off. She read the time and nearly had an aneurysm. 8:15 AM. Yea, she was mega late.

She flailed under her blanket and fell out of bed, hitting the floor with a loud thump. She immediately shot up and ran to her dresser in a frantic search for a somewhat cute outfit. She found her ripped jeans and hopped around her room, trying to shove her own legs into them. The brunette nearly fell a few times but it didn’t really matter to her. So what if she had a few bruises? 

Clementine found a loose black shirt and put it on, but before she could pull it below her stomach she saw something extraordinary. Abs, she had abs. Not only were they abs, they were a six pack. She stared into her full-length mirror with a dumbfounded expression. She poked one of them.

_ “I…. have abs….,”  _ the girl thought.  _ “When did this happen? ….should I name them?” _

Baseball never gave the teen abs. Sure it made her more toned but it never did this. Baseball just wasn’t that kind enough to do so. It was more of a drinking orange juice after brushing your teeth kind of sport. 

The girl decided to ignore her new muscles for now, they were only going to make her even more late to school. She desperately searched her room for her white sneakers but she couldn’t find them. She decided to put on her black sandals instead since they were nearby. 

She threw on her backpack and her baseball cap and ran out the door. Her feet slammed frantically against the pavement. The way to her high school was engraved into her head from all the walks with Gabe every morning, her only worry was how slow she was being. At this pace, she wouldn’t make it in time for first period. The seconds turned into minutes, which only fueled her anxiety even more.

_ “I can’t be late for school! I just can’t!”  _ Clementine thought.  _ “I need to go faster!” _

Suddenly the houses around her started whizzing by faster. The trees turned into brown and green blurs. Her mind zeroed in on what her eyes saw, and everything started to become clearer. Crystal clear, Claritin clear, ‘I can see clearly now the rain is gone’ clear. The blurs were no longer blurs but they were pristine images of what surrounded her. Her brain became more focused on where she stepped, her neurons moved faster than ever. She felt more alert. Her breathing was still normal by the time she reached the school. Her calves didn’t ache and her heart beat normally.

_ “Woah…,”  _ The brunette thought.  _ “What…. What was that?” _

She had no time for further questioning, the late bell started to go off. She bolted through the front doors of the school and into the hallway of her first class. She opened the door to the Literature class and everyone’s heads turned towards her. Clementine felt her face heat up as she entered, shutting the door behind her. The girl looked up from her shoes to face her teacher, Carley Glass.

“You’re late, Clementine,” the woman announced.

“I’m sorry, Miss Glass. I woke up late.”

“You get a pass since you’re fresh out of the hospital. Sit down, please.”

Clementine quickly made her way to her desk. She unpacked all the essentials for the class and listened intently. Carley went on and on about various old pieces of literature that were made in Europe way back in the day. Clem wrote down some notes about analyzing Shakespeare plays and their form of speech. It may be on the test or the final exam, no one can be too careful. The class drew on as the brown-haired teacher told them various different things on writing and analyzing works written in the English language. 

A tap on her shoulder had her turning around to face the person behind her. Mitch Granville. Mitch was a bit of a hothead, but beneath that he was a caring guy. Brody Salvatori was behind him and seemed to be part of the upcoming conversation.

“Clem,” Mitch began. “Has baseball gotten more intense?”

Clementine raised her eyebrow. “Huh?”

Brody cleared her throat. “Have they been making you exercise more?”

“No… why?”

Mitch and Brody shared a glance. Mitch awkwardly shifted. “This isn’t meant to sound weird or anything, but Brody and I noticed that your arms look a little more… defined.”

Clementine looked at her arms and saw that they did look more defined. It wasn’t a drastic change, but it was apparently a noticeable one. She flexed one of her arms and saw even more of a protruding bicep muscle than usual.

“Woah,” Mitch breathed. “Looks like I need to join baseball.”

Brody slapped him on the arm and smiled. Clem drowned their playful banter out as she thought over the events of today. First she finds out she has abs, then she gets to school way faster than any normal human being should, and finally she finds out that she has more defined muscles. Something was clearly wrong here. This stuff wasn’t normal. None of this should be happening.

The bell rang and her classmates all got up and left Miss Glass’s class. The girl slowly followed suit, still reeling over her thoughts. She walked through the crowded halls, weaving her way through those that were either slow or stopped in the middle of the path. One thing she hated about high school was how no one cared about other students getting to their classes. Students would just stop in the middle of the halls and talk about stupid things like football and boat trips that will never happen. Then there were the couples that held hands and never let anyone pass. They were the absolute worst. Be considerate of other people, the sun doesn’t revolve around egomaniacs like you.

Clementine was so lost in her own mind that she didn’t see where she was going and bumped into Gabe. The boy smiled at her as he tugged on his locker. 

“Hey, Clem!” He beamed. “You doing alright?”

Clementine debated on telling Gabe all that’s been going on, but decided against it. “Yea. Yea, everything is fine.”

Gabe raised an eyebrow as if he was a tad bit unconvinced. “...if you say so. Hey, can you help me out with my locker? It won’t open.”

The boy moved out of the way so Clementine could stand in front of the locker. She entered his code in using the combination lock and pulled on the handle. Nothing. She tugged on the handle again and still got nothing close to an ‘Open Sesame’. It was like the door was glued shut somehow. The girl tugged on the handle harder and harder, determined to open her best friend’s locker.

Gabe sighed. “It’s fine, Clementine. It won’t open. I’ll have to talk to an administrator about it.”

Clementine gritted her teeth together. “It  _ will  _ open, Gabe.”

“Clem-“

A metal snap was heard and the locker door was yanked off of its hinges. The once bustling hallway was now quiet as everyone stared at the locker door in Clementine’s hands. Clementine turned the old piece of metal to its side and saw that she ripped it clean off of the hinges. The only remains were the holes where the screws once belonged. The girl dropped the door and it hit the floor with a loud clang that seemed to reverberate all throughout the school. 

The girl’s mind started to race. Her chest felt heavy and her breathing got faster. Something was definitely wrong with her, and the fact that she didn’t know what it was terrified the teenager to the core. Her body started to shake. She looked at Gabe and saw his eyes wide in an unreadable expression. Time seemed to slow as she looked around at all the students in the hallway. They all either stared at her as if she was weird or someone to fear. She heard whispers all around her, clear as day to her ears even though they shouldn’t have been.

“Did she just rip a door off?”

“Clementine is acting pretty weird.”

“Maybe she should have stayed in the hospital for a few more days.”

The bundle of quiet chatter all danced together around her. The once soft voices soon became the loudest thing to her. Her mind juggled thoughts around, trying to process her next move on its own. Her muscles tensed on their own as if they were getting ready for a fight that was bound to happen sooner or later. Yet the action that the girl chose to do was one that her body was not preparing itself for. She ran. 

Her mind and body moved fast, but her surroundings were in slow motion. Everywhere she looked she saw the stares of those who witnessed the bizarre event. The stomping of her feet vibrated through the halls as she ran away. She heard Gabe calling out for her but she didn’t stop. She couldn’t stop. Clementine was terrified. She had no idea what was going on. Strange things like this shouldn’t be happening to her or to anyone. It wasn’t normal.

She ran into the girl’s bathroom and to the wall furthest away from the door. She breathed frantically as it became harder to do so. Her mind was running the Boston Marathon and her chest felt like an elephant was sitting on it. She knew she was having a panic attack, but she couldn’t bring herself to try and stop it. She slid down the wall and curled up into a ball on the floor. She wrapped her arms around her legs and put her face into her knees. Her body trembled so much that someone would think she was freezing to death. Voices traveled through her brain, mocking her and judging her. They just wouldn’t stop. She wanted them to stop, she wanted them to stop so bad.

“We can’t go in there!” A male voice shouted outside the bathroom.

“And why not?” A female one retorted.

“It’s the  _ girl’s  _ room!”

“Oh my god, you two are hopeless! Just get your asses in here with me!”

The door creaked as it opened and shut. Three pairs of footsteps walked towards the girl with intense precaution. She heard someone kneel down in front of her but she didn’t bother looking up to see who it was. The three kids with her didn’t say anything, but she could feel their worrying stares as they watched her have a breakdown. One of them put a hand on her arm and immediately retracted it with a yelp.

“Ow!” The female screeched. “She shocked me!”

“It was just a static shock, Vi,” one of the male voices spoke.

“No Louis,” Violet responded. “It was an electrical shock. Like an actual electrical shock.”

Louis huffed. “Vi, if I touch her and-“ Louis cried out when he too got shocked after touching Clementine.

“You weren’t kidding!” He shouted. “Gabe, it’s your turn.”

“What?! No!” Gabe exclaimed.

The three kids watched as Clementine kept shaking profusely. They heard her ragged breathing and knew she was having a heavy breakdown. Who wouldn’t after going through her situation?

Gabe groaned. “We need to calm her.”

“And how do you expect us to do that?” Louis asked.

“I don’t know! Give her a teddy bear or something?”

“Oh good thinking! I’m sure Build-A-Bear has the perfect stuffed animal for ‘so panicked that you conduct electricity and glow’! Wait… glow?”

Louis realized his words after saying them and looked over at Clementine. She was actually glowing. It seemed to be a bright golden aura mixed with streams of blue and white specks. It radiated energy so intense that the kids could feel it swirling around them. It resembled a supernova of some kind. 

“Okay,” Gabe started. “Now I’m freaked out.”

“Clementine…,” Louis said shakily. “Can you hear us? Are you okay?”

The girl gave no response to the happy-go-lucky boy. She kept the same position, radiating that same aura that seemed to move around like waves from an ocean. 

“Clementine,” Violet softly spoke. “It’s okay. Everything will be okay.”

The blonde tried her best to soothe the brunette in front of her. Seeing her like this tore her apart from the inside out. She took in a shaky breath and continued.

“I can’t understand what you’re going through right now, but I know that it’s not easy. Things are happening to you, things that aren’t normal. We want to help you, Clem. Gabe, Louis, and I are right here and ready to lend a helping hand.”

The thoughts assaulting Clementine’s head lessened and she looked up. She saw Gabe, Violet, and Louis all staring at her with concerned looks. Clementine’s lip trembled and she felt a few tears escape her eyes.

“What’s happening to me?” She asked fearfully.

Louis shook his head. “We don’t know exactly, but I have a guess as to what caused it.”

Clementine’s heart beat faster, her blood pressure increased. Stress and anxiety took over her again. She started glowing brighter and brighter. The kids gasped and backed away from her. The lights in the bathroom flickered on and off as if something was zapping their power. The girl raised a hand that was shaking tremendously and saw her own aura right before her eyes. It only worsened her behavior.

“Clementine!” Gabe shouted as he realized what was sending the girl over the edge again. “Stop!”

Clementine screamed and the aura that encased her burst off of her as an energy blast. The three kids in front of her flew back and landed on the cold tiles beneath them. The lights in the bathroom burst and went out as electric bolts pierced them. Glass fell to the floor and jingled around until it came to a complete stop. The blast Clementine released caused the sinks to break and water started flying out of the faucets, raining on the four kids. The sprinkler system did the same. It was like nothing they ever seen before. It was horrifying.

Clementine looked up at the damage and pouted as she shook lightly. Gabe got up and hesitantly walked over to her. He kneeled and hugged her close to him. Louis and Violet came over and joined in on the hug. Clementine started crying, her fearful emotions getting the best of her.

“You’re okay, Clem,” Gabe reassured her. “We’re all here. We’ll help you. We’ll find out what’s wrong.”

The group got up and helped Clementine walk out of the bathroom. She leaned on Gabe as she still shook and her legs wobbled a bit. They were all soaked but they didn’t care. What mattered to them most was helping Clementine. She was in dire need of a few helping hands, and she was going to get them.


	4. Analysis

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 4 is finally here as well as a playlist for this story!
> 
> Check the playlist out here: https://open.spotify.com/user/mclain903/playlist/6zNpODPrNhnUWipo1wPVi8?si=bKPuDc8sSS2YaKlm4h5dxA

The car ride to Louis’s mansion was unnerving to say the least. Clementine just wanted to go home and crawl into bed, maybe eat some of Lee’s delicious pancakes for dinner and watch Young Justice with AJ. But here she was, sitting in the back of a Rolls-Royce Phantom between Gabe and Violet as Louis sat in the front passenger seat next to his chauffeur. Louis was being his usual self and chatting the bald man’s ear off, yet he didn’t seem to mind, it was as if he was used to it. He made up some excuse as to why the three of them were coming over to his house after school and tried his best to stick to it. Gabe was being a little too handsy with the car and was messing with almost everything in it, earning him a stern glare from the chauffeur and a smack on the hand from Louis as he reached up to touch the starlight headliner. The boy clearly didn’t know how to act upon sitting in a car worth more than his entire life savings. Violet just stared out the window, watching as the jumbled buildings slowly turned into trees. Her silence was normal, but everyone could tell that she was lost in a thought that seemed to bother her.

Clementine still hadn’t talked since the bathroom incident. She kept her head low and her eyes away from anyone she crossed paths with. Ever since she woke up, her whole world had been flipped upside down. She wasn’t herself anymore, she wasn’t even sure if she was normal. She desperately wanted all of this to be a dream. She wanted to wake up on the bus and hear her mind shout out “Ha ha you fell for it! Now go get that education and graduate as Valedictorian!” as they pulled up to Washington Corporations. Yet she could only wish for it to be real. She still felt her body tingling from her concussive blast that was full of whatever energy was a part of her now.

When the luxury vehicle pulled up to Louis’s mansion, Clementine couldn’t believe her eyes. Not only did Louis’s property appear to be half of what Central Park measured, the mansion in front of her was the most luxurious thing she’s ever seen. She felt like she had to sell her soul just to look at it for even a second. The mansion was a second story home that was the length of a football field. It was a Mediterranean Style home complete with a beige exterior paint job, tall windows—some arched—, and beautiful french doors leading out onto large balconies. Apparently the obnoxious fountain in the center of the stone roundabout wasn’t enough, the Washingtons had to throw in an iron gate and an exceedingly large home while they were at it. Needless to say, Clementine and Gabe were overwhelmed.

“No. Way,” the García boy breathed. “This… this is your house?!”

Violet snickered like Stitch from that one Lilo & Stitch scene. “Told you they’d turn into deers in headlights. Pay up, Lou.”

Louis groaned as he fished a crisp twenty dollar bill out of his wallet and slapped it in Violet’s open palm. The blonde hellion simply chuckled as she pocketed her winning prize. The boy retaliated by knocking her black beanie off of her head. She glared and bent down to pick it up.

Louis’s trademark grin quickly resurfaced as he threw his arms around Gabe and Clementine. “Mi casa es su casa!”

The blonde rolled her eyes as she fought off a smile. She stuck her hands into the pockets of her denim jacket—that was adorned with pins of band logos—and strolled up to the wide double doors like she owned the place. The others followed suit and upon getting close to the doors, a sophisticated man with gray hair and a trimmed gray mustache opened the door. He was dressed in a butler’s uniform so Clementine assumed that he was one. Louis simply ran up to the posh man and high-fived him.

“Chairles!” He exclaimed as he threw finger guns. “What’s up, my man?”

Gabe raised an eyebrow. “Chairles?”

“My real name is Charles,” the Butler replied, his voice revealing itself to be a sophisticated baritone. “But ever since I tripped on a chair leg when he was eight, Young Master Louis has been adamant on calling me Chairles.” 

Violet held out her fist and he gave her a fist bump. Gabe looked on in confusion as Clementine stared blankly. Charles—or Chairles—noticed Clementine and turned to Louis. He whispered something to him behind his gloved hand and Louis nodded. Charles cleared his throat as he returned to his perfect posture.

“If the three of you will follow me, I will lead you to the study hall,” he spoke.

The Butler walked into the house and the four teenagers followed like ducklings. If Clementine didn’t think the mansion was like a modern palace at first, she sure did now. Upon entering the mansion, she was met with a wide open foyer with a marble floor so clean that she could see her own reflection. There were two grand staircases that curled inwards towards the second floor balcony. Hung high from the ceiling above their heads was a crystal chandelier with three layers. It was gold and shone bright enough to give the foyer a regal look to it. Their footsteps resonated quietly through the room. Clementine wondered how impossible it’d be to move around this place without alerting anyone.

Charles led them to the study hall which was basically a wide open room full of bookshelves and lounge chairs with a singular stone fireplace. It honestly looked like the study hall from Clue. Now all Clementine had to do was find the murder weapon and the murderer. It was probably Mrs. Peacock with the wrench. Clementine hated Mrs. Peacock, she always thought she looked like one of those suburban moms that had a vendetta against gluten and Karen who lived down the street.

Charles walked over to a painting of Louis’s parents and stuck his hand behind the frame. He made a pressing motion and gears started whirring behind the wall. Clementine, Gabe, and Violet backed away out of fear of the unknown. Louis was practically bouncing with anticipation and Charles stood unmoving with his hands behind him. The whirring stopped and a ding was heard as the wood wall separated and revealed the entrance to an elevator. Louis ran in and Charles followed suit, proceeding to stand next to the control panel.

“Well?” Louis asked. “What are you three waiting for? Get in! Chairles and I don’t bite!”

The three teens hesitantly obeyed Louis’s enthusiastic command and stood in the elevator. Gabe muttered something about Bruce Wayne’s Batcave before the elevator doors closed and they started their descent. The tension was high as three of the occupants feared for their sanity. They stayed silent and listened to the cliche elevator music that seemed to be a marimba version of Sunflower by Post Malone. Louis hummed the song happily.

“NEEDLESS TO SAY, I KEEP HER IN CHECK,” Louis busted out singing. 

Clementine and Gabe screamed. Violet jumped like a startled cat and instinctively punched Louis in the gut. Charles stood unmoving, probably used to Louis’s antics. Louis was now hunched over trying to regain his breath. He groaned in pain and looked up at Violet who threatened to throw more hands if he did that again.

“Be happy that it wasn’t I Want It That Way by Backstreet Boys, Miss Violet,” Charles spoke up. “Young Master Louis turns up to that song.”

Gabe choked. “Did he just-“

“He fucking did,” Violet grumbled.

The elevator stopped its descent and dinged once more. The doors opened to reveal a basement full of boxes that held important documents, rollable whiteboards with nonsensical equations written on them, test tubes and beakers, and various computers and machinery. It looked like Elysium for scientists. The group walked into the room and Louis dug out a clipboard and empty pieces of paper. He handed the clipboard—which now securely held the pieces of paper—to Charles. Louis then proceeded to walk over to Clementine and lay his hands on her shoulders.

“We’re going to find out what’s going on with you,” he softly spoke. “You’re probably going to feel like a science experiment, but trust me when I say that it’s gonna be worth it in the end.”

“Wait,” Violet spoke up. “We’re using her as a lab rat? Louis! No! Clementine is  _ not  _ a class project!”

“Vi…”

“Don’t ‘Vi’ me! I don’t think she-“

Clementine raised her hand to stop Violet. “I’ll do it.”

“What?!” Gabe gasped. “You can’t be serious!”

“It’s the only way to figure out what’s wrong with me…”

Violet put her hand on Clem’s arm. “Clem-“

“No, Violet,” Clementine spoke sternly. “I’m doing this.”

She wiped the blonde’s hand off of her arm and took in a deep breath. “Let’s get started, Louis.”

Gabe and Violet shared a worried look as Clementine followed Louis to a chair. The girl sat in the chair and Louis gave her a book. She raised her eyebrow and flipped it over, learning that it was a book on genetic variation. The curly haired teen was confused. Why would Louis give her a book? She expected needles and hair samples, not educational reading. She looked up and raised an eyebrow at Louis who only smiled. She noticed that he did a weird hand signal which only confused her even more.

Suddenly she felt a tingling sensation all over her back. Time slowed down for Clementine as she became more alert to her surroundings. Upon instinct she strained her ears and heard the faint sound of something flying through the air. It was heading right towards the back of her head. She stood and turned around, raising the genetics book like a baseball bat. Only then could she see the object coming at her. A tennis ball, it was a bright yellow tennis ball. She glanced up to see that Charles still had his arm outstretched in a throwing motion. She pursed her lips and swung the book at the tennis ball, hitting it and propelling it away from her. Time resumed its normal pace as the ball flew faster and slammed into a lamp, knocking it over from the force of Clementine’s hit.

She looked at Charles and saw him nodding as he wrote something down on the piece of paper. Gabe and Violet looked like they were trying to solve invisible calculus equations while Louis threw an arm around her shoulder.

“Super speed  _ and  _ super reflexes? Pair that with the super strength and the bathroom incident and I think I know where this is going!” He exclaimed.

Clementine furrowed her brows. “Where?”

“Nope! Can’t reveal yet! Prick her, Chairles!”

Clementine yelped as she felt a sharp pain in her arm. She turned and saw a needle protruding out of her arm as Charles collected blood. The sight nearly made her gag but she stayed strong. Once the Butler had collected enough blood, he removed the needle and turned to grab a cotton ball and a band-aid. When he looked back he saw that the hole where he pierced Clementine’s skin had completely healed, leaving no trace behind, not even a scar. The Butler just shrugged and walked away, leaving the children alone.

“While Chairles goes to research your blood,” Louis piped up. “Why don’t we all play a game?” 

Violet crossed her arms and scoffed. “A game? Seriously Louis? After what you and Charles just did?”

“There’s no reason to be mad, Violet. Clementine gave us her permission.”

Violet tried to keep up her mad facade but her face dropped upon realizing that her best friend was right. “I… guess that it was the only way. She couldn’t really have gone to anyone else without being locked up and experimented on forever.”

Gabe sighed. “Dammit… you’re right.”

Louis smiled and held up the deck of cards that he brought when Clementine was in the hospital. He waved them around and the teens nodded, agreeing to Louis’s offer of a game. They sat at a table and Louis put the deck in the middle of them.

“Let’s play a fun version of Twenty Questions!” He began. “Each person draws a card, the person with the highest number has to ask the person with the lowest number a question. That person  _ has  _ to answer. Got it?”

The kids nodded and their game began. They reached for the deck and took their card one by one until they each had one. They flipped their cards over and Clementine saw that she had a seven. It was a pretty high number, but she still looked up to see what everyone else had. Violet had a three, Louis had a six, and Gabe had a ten. Gabe cheered and turned to Violet who groaned.

“God if you love me-“ the girl began before Gabe cut her off.

“What’s your sexuality?”

“The Lord hates me. He fucking hates me,” Violet groaned as she banged her head on the table.

“Gabe,” Clementine began. “What the hell?”

“What? It’s a valid question! I don’t want to be rude and assume things!”

“So a game of Twenty Questions is the way to ask her? You couldn’t be a sane human being?”

Violet sighed. “It’s fine, it’s fine. I’m a Lesbian. I like girls. Happy?”

Gabe and Louis smirked at each other and had a silent conversation. Gabe then turned back to Violet. “Now I know that all three of you are useless gays.”

“Wait what?!” Violet nearly shouted. “Three?!”

“Yea, Louis is Pan—which you already know—and Clem is Bi.”

“She’s WHAT?!” Violet shouted, nearly falling out of her chair. 

“...yea. I’m Bi,” Clementine said.

“Look at that! You both like girls and have compatible zodiac signs! I can hear the wedding bells now!” Louis remarked. Violet looked like she wanted to jump over the table and perform a WWE Smackdown on him.

“What?” Clementine asked.

“NOTHING! IT’S NOTHING!” Violet frantically shouted, her face as red as Tinkerbell.

“ _ Awww. She’s cute when she’s embarrassed. Wait, what? _ ” 

Clementine didn’t know if she actually just thought that. It was so sudden that it caught her off guard. Yet it didn’t seem to phase her on the outside.

“Should I start calling you Tinkerbell since you get so red?” She practically flirted.

Louis and Gabe hollered as Violet got even redder. The blonde took her beanie off and hid her face behind it. Clementine knew she should have been questioning her sudden boldness in the ‘I see a cute girl and go off’ game, but all she could focus on was Violet. Clementine didn’t know when it started to happen, but Violet was starting to become insanely adorable.

“Next round! Please!” Violet begged.

The kids got their cards and flipped them. Louis had the highest and Clementine had the lowest. Louis turned towards her with an eager look.

“How do you really feel about your new abilities?”

Clementine’s smile fell as the tension between them rose. “I… I hate them. I want them gone. They make me feel like a freak. You should have seen those people in the hall when I yanked Gabe’s locker door off of its hinges. You should have heard their whispers. I just… I just want to be normal again.”

The three teens with her all shared a glance before Louis spoke once more. “You… you wouldn’t want to be a superhero?”

Clementine looked up. “Huh?”

“Clementine, there is a high chance that you may have superpowers now. You wouldn’t want to learn how to use them and save people?”

“That’s insane! I’m not a superhuman!”

Charles cleared his throat, gaining the attention of the group. “I’m afraid that Young Master Louis is right. The microscopic analysis of your blood cells showed that you are in fact superhuman.”

Clementine didn’t know what to think. Her mind went haywire. Her? Superhuman? No. It can’t be right. It can’t be true.

“You’re lying,” she finally spoke, her voice starting to tremble.

“I’m afraid not, Miss Clementine.”

She shook her head and stood up. “No! No, I don’t want this! Reverse it!”

“Clem-“ Gabe began.

“No! No, I’m not going to stay like this, Gabe!”

The curly haired teen walked to the elevator doors and pushed the button. The other three stood up abruptly and watched her worriedly.

“Woah woah woah!” Violet started. “Where are you going?”

The elevator dinged and the doors opened. Clementine walked in and pressed a button on the control panel. She looked Violet dead in the eyes.

“I’m going home.”

Then the doors closed.


	5. A Little Push

The metal doors to the dark room were slammed shut as a brunette woman stormed in. Her harsh footsteps bounced off the walls and her fists were clenched so tight that her knuckles were starting to turn white. Her lips were pulled into a tight scowl. If she were a cartoon character then steam would be coming from her ears, that’s how mad she was. She screamed out in anger and threw everything off of the table in front of her. She flipped the table and punched the air quite a few times as well. The metal doors opened and closed shut as a balding man walked in, clearly fearing for his life because of the livid woman.

“Miss,” he began cautiously. “Are you okay?”

“DOES IT LOOK LIKE I’M OKAY, ABEL?!” The woman shouted.

The man known as Abel flinched. “Don’t get so worked up. We’ll find her.”

“My people have been looking for days and found no trace of her! She couldn’t have just disappeared off the face of the Earth!”

“Well-“

“The Earth isn’t fucking flat, Abel.”

Abel recoiled and looked down, ashamed of what he was going to say before the woman cut him off. He tapped his foot as he felt her gaze burn right through him. A light bulb went off over his head and he smirked.

“We could lure her out,” he suggested.

“What do you mean?” She asked.

“The girl has powers right? It’s like a superhero origin story. All we have to do is start a little bit of crime, then she’ll come running out of whatever hole she’s hiding in.”

The brunette stared blankly. “You need to lay off the comic books. ...I also hate to say it but you may be right.”

“Who should we send out to stir a little trouble, Miss?”

The brunette tapped a finger on her chin in thought. “Send William Carver. Atlanta is due for a visit from Striker.”

Abel smiled deviously. “Right away, Lilly.”

~~~

Clementine didn’t sleep a wink that night. She was lucky it was the weekend or else she’d be going to school looking like a college student who panicked over exams a little too hard. Louis’s words replayed in her mind over and over again, making her re-evaluate her life choices. He asked her if she wouldn’t want to be a superhero. A superhero. The thought sounded nice, but it was scary at the same time. What was it that Peter Parker’s Uncle Ben said? With great power comes great responsibility. Yea, that might as well be her senior quote.

Clementine thought the whole idea was bizarre. She couldn’t be a superhero! She just couldn’t! She didn’t have any powers cool enough to be like Wanda Maximoff or Zatanna. Hell, she wasn’t even smart enough to make gadgets and gizmos like Tony Stark or Bruce Wayne. Being a superhero wasn’t for her. She needed to get rid of these powers quickly, she wanted her life back. Louis was just going to have to respect that.

The smell of Lee’s homemade chocolate chip pancakes wafted into her room and her stomach let out an ungodly growl. Okay, so she was hungry. The girl didn’t want to get up, but the more she thought about the pancakes the more her mouth watered and her taste buds tingled. She threw her blanket off of her and begrudgingly stood up. Laying in bed all day was a nice thought, but pancakes were better. She made her way out of her room and into the kitchen where Lee was putting pancakes on a plate for AJ. He set the plate in front of AJ—who was sitting at the table—and looked up at Clementine.

“About time you woke up,” he beamed. “I made your favorite. Chocolate chip pancakes.”

“You don’t have to tell me. I could smell these things from a mile away.”

Clementine smiled as she grabbed a plate full of pancakes and sat next to AJ. She rubbed his head and laughed as he struggled to fit a giant piece into his mouth. Lee sat down with a plate of his own and the family of three ate their breakfast. It was quiet if you ignored the clinking of metal forks against glass plates. No words were spoken at any moment in time whatsoever. 

Lee took a sip of his coffee and cleared his throat. “I’m glad you’re making new friends, Clem.”

Clementine looked up, her mouth full of pancake pieces. “Wot?”

“Clem,” AJ began. “Swallow your food.”

Clementine glared playfully at her little brother before doing what he said. She turned back to Lee. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“You’re branching out. You’re not sticking around Gabe all the time. Don’t get me wrong, Gabe is an amazing kid, but I’ve seen you in the halls at school. You don’t really like hanging around other kids.”

“That’s because they only see me as the popular girl, the star of the baseball team, the Queen Bee. They don’t care about who I really am. I mean yea I do talk to people but even then I’m not so sure about becoming their friend.”

Lee sighed. “Do you like Louis and Violet then?”

Clementine pursed her lips. Her first impressions of the two were in Freshman year. Louis accidentally broke the chair he was sitting in during their English class and fell right on his tailbone. Before that, he was basically the class clown who never took anything that seriously. So she was a bit put off by his boisterous behavior. Violet on the other hand was what everyone would call a loner. She walked around the campus with her headphones in, listening to some loud rock music that would definitely give her tinnitus in the future. The brunette was seventy percent sure she once heard Bulletproof Heart by My Chemical Romance playing from the headphones at one point in time. Clementine maybe had one class with her during Freshman year, that class being Geometry. She always sat at the back and played with the pins on her denim jacket. Sometimes she would catch the blonde glancing at her for a few seconds before hastily looking away. It was odd to say the least. The two made an unlikely pair, but polar opposites attract apparently.

At first Clementine thought nothing of the two, merely going about her years in high school paying no mind to anyone besides Gabe, Duck, and Sarah. Yet they seemed to really care about her. They visited her in the hospital after the accident, helped her during her breakdown, even asked her about her life instead of just baseball. Clementine considered them to be her friends. They’ve already been through thick and thin with her, so why wouldn’t they be?

Clementine nodded. “Yea. Yea, I like Louis and Violet. They’re very caring. Sure they may be complete opposites of each other but that’s what makes them special. I’m glad we met actually.”

Lee smiled. “I’m glad you found them then.”

The adoptive father dug back into pancakes and Clementine watched as her mind fought itself. Should she tell Lee about her new… abilities? Maybe he can help find a way to get rid of them. Or maybe he won’t believe her. The internal battle started to give her a headache. Life just seemed so hard for her at the moment. She had no idea what to do. A little part of her was even scared.

“Sweet Pea,” Lee spoke once more. “You alright?”

Clementine stared for a long while, deep in thought. “If… if you were in an accident and suddenly had superpowers… would you get rid of them?”

Here it comes. The “What In The World Are You Asking Me?” Express was pulling into the station. All aboard, Clementine Everett, and bring your shovel cause you’re gonna need it. The girl wanted to duck under the table right then and there. Why couldn’t she have been given the power to manipulate time instead? That would’ve been more useful.

“Well,” Lee began. “I’d be scared at first since it’d be a new sensation. But eventually I’d use those powers for good, to help people. The way I see it, if you were given powers then you were given them for a reason. If you’re given a gift like that, then you’re meant to have it.”

Clementine stared blankly but she was screaming on the inside. She should have braced herself for the possibility that he’d say he’d keep the powers, but she never thought about the possibility that he’d bust out with something philosophical. He practically gave Socrates a run for his money—er, his drachmae. Clementine could see the man now up on a stage in Athens, wearing a white toga and a gold leaf circlet, confusing the absolute hell out of the Athenians with the Socratic Method. Well, maybe the Athenians wouldn’t get confused, Athens was the most logical Greek city-state after all, and Athena was the city-state’s patron goddess. He’d probably confuse the Spartans. Yea, definitely the Spartans. Those bloodthirsty brutes.

Lee snapped his fingers. “Did you hear me?”

Clementine shook her head. “No, sorry.”

“I asked why you wanted to know something like that.”

“ _ Oh no. Think, Clem, think! _ ” She thought frantically.

“It’s for an English assignment,” was what she ended up saying.

“ _ Yea that’s good until he freaking talks to Miss Glass about it and she asks what the hell he’s on about. _ ”

Well… that excuse was ridiculous. Yet Lee seemed to nod and accept it. He took both his and AJ’s empty plates and set them in the sink. He then walked over into the living room and sat on the couch, turning on the tv and flipping to the news. Clementine paid no attention to the news anchor’s monotonous voice as she finished her pancakes. She stood up and walked over to the sink, about to put her plate in when she heard it.

“Breaking news,” the Anchor started. “A tremendous force nearly tore down the entirety of the Atlanta Bank. Surveillance footage shows a man clad in metal  _ ripping  _ the vault door off of its hinges and stealing the money inside. Police are saying that they are currently working on bringing the metallic man into custody but their efforts are proving to be of no use.”

Lee gasped. “Holy shit. Can you believe that, Clem?”

Clementine stared with wide eyes and her mouth agape. It was terrifying. It was surreal. It was like there was a supervillain in Atlanta. 

She lost her grip on the plate and it fell, shattering once it hit the ground. 

~~~

“What made you want to get some extra practice in?” Javier García asked as he pitched the ball.

Clementine swung the bat, missing the ball by a longshot. “I needed to clear my head.”

“School stressing you out?”

“Something like that.”

Javier García was Gabe’s uncle and the coach of the school’s baseball team. Gabe, his little sister Mariana, and his stepmom Kate moved in with Javi after Gabe’s dad David got in trouble with the law for assaulting someone in a Publix because they took the last box of chocolate covered, coconut macaroons. Out of all places, it happened in a Publix and it happened over macaroons. Clementine knew Georgia shared a border with Florida, but apparently the two states shared a lack of brain cells in its inhabitants as well. David must’ve been having a  _ really  _ bad day.

Clementine picked up the ball she missed and threw it back to Javi. He put it in his mit and scrunched his face, trying to think of his next throw. 

“You wanna know what’s interesting about you?” The man asked as he got into throwing position.

“What?”

Javi threw the ball and it curved right towards her at such a high speed. The girl panicked and trampled back, falling down as the ball whizzed past her. Dirt flew up in dust clouds as her body hit the ground. Clementine laid there a bit before putting the palms of her hands on each side of her. The girl pushed herself back up, her eyes holding their familiar fire and her face screaming out that she’s done messing around.

Javi smirked. “You always find a way. You don’t let anything get you down. No matter how many times you’re knocked down, you always get back up stronger than ever.”

Clementine raised an eyebrow. “Did you make me fall just so you could prove a point?”

“Maybe I did. Maybe I didn’t.”

“Ass.”

“Correction:  _ Extra  _ ass.”

“Whatever,” Clementine scoffed, picking up the baseball.

She tossed it back to Javi and he caught it with ease. He chuckled and smirked at her, soon walking over to his bag to put his gear back.

“Don’t ever change, Clementine,” he began. “You can be so much more than this if you tried.”

The man walked off, leaving Clementine alone. The girl went to pack her stuff up as well. She was in the middle of packing when she started to let both Lee and Javi’s words sink in. She raised her left hand out of her bag and stared. She focused on channeling her powers and watched as the cosmic energy swirled around her fingertips, flickering on and off. She tried to concentrate harder but the energy eventually died, leaving nothing in its wake. The girl shook her head and pulled out the change of clothes in her backpack. It was time to put her powers to the test and see what she can do.

~~~

Standing in the alleyway next to a busy road was not one of Clementine’s smartest ideas. She was lucky her blue hoodie and black bandana helped cover part of her face, but it was still dumb. She furiously shook her hand, screaming some obscenities at it. Passing pedestrians looked down the alleyway as if they just heard someone tell them that the Easter Bunny was last seen at a frat house full of airheaded college men. ‘Why yes, the Easter Bunny was at Gamma Phi last night. You should have seen him playing Beer Pong with Chad’. Obviously that didn’t happen and there were probably many people who hoped it never does.

“Ugh!” Clementine groaned. “Work, you stupid powers!”

The girl kept shaking her hand—now her whole arm—like it was some sort of ragdoll and not her own limb. She looked like she was doing a weird dance to get a bunch of caterpillars off of her back. The girl stuck her hand out to the side and a burst of cosmic energy mixed with bright blue electricity shot out of her palm. The girl yelped and retracted her hand, staring off where it shot at. She breathed a sigh of relief when she deemed herself in the clear. Or so she thought.

Metal sliding on metal was heard just outside the alleyway. It was followed by glass shattering, metal bending, and a car alarm going off. Tires screeched on the road and Clementine could have sworn she heard a crash. She peeked out of the alley and saw that a street lamp was chopped right in half and crashed onto a parked car. The sudden occurrence caused a car on the other side of the road to slam on its brakes and get rear-ended. 

A man rushed out of the store next to the alley and screamed. “MY CAR! WHAT HAPPENED TO MY CAR?!”

Clementine slowly backed up into the alleyway, acting like she had nothing to do with the incident. She stared at her palms in awe. Cosmic energy  _ and  _ electricity? Okay, she could get used to this. 

She looked up towards the roof of the building in front of her and pursed her lips. She raised her hands up and got no response from her powers. The only thing she got was a pose that made her look like a lunatic. The girl furrowed her brows and tried again. Still nothing. 

“Oh so you can’t shoot up there?” She asked no one.

She raised one arm this time and a bright blue rope shot out from her palm. It wrapped around a tower on top of the roof on one end and the other end wrapped securely around her wrist. Clementine stared at the rope in awe. It shone brightly and looked to be made up of millions of stars that constantly moved around, giving the appearance of rippling water. The stars twinkled one by one and the rope felt warm to the touch. She tugged on the rope and it yanked her upwards. It dissolved into nothing once she was suspended in midair. She fell back towards the rooftop and landed quite harshly, springing up immediately afterwards though.

“ _ If I can make ropes, _ ” the brunette thought. “ _ Then that means I can swing through the air. _ ”

The girl turned and gazed at the skyscraper in the distance. She eyed the buildings in between. 

“ _ Only one way to find out. _ ”

She took off into a sprint and leaped off the side of the building. She watched as the cars and ground below grew closer. She listened as the air flew past her ears. She closed her eyes and took it all in. Then she opened her eyes and shot out her hand, the rope stretching towards a traffic light and coiling around it. The girl’s trajectory changed as she felt herself being swung like a pendulum. Once she was facing the sky again, she willed the rope to disappear and it did as it was told. She flew up into the air and she shot out another rope, this time at a sign hanging off the side of a building. She repeated this process over and over again, laughing to herself as she felt the adrenaline coursing through her veins.

It wasn’t until she was already soaring upwards next to the skyscraper that she realized she didn’t have enough force to make it to the top. She panicked as she felt herself falling faster and faster towards the ground below. The girl tried shooting a rope towards the top but nothing came out.

“ _ No! No, please! This can’t be it! _ ”

She felt her body grow warmer and her aura shift into cosmic energy, causing her to glow brighter than any star. Her descent slowed and she felt calmer. She felt lighter. She felt like she was levitating, and she was. Clementine looked around and saw that she was suspended a couple stories off the ground with nothing holding her. She stared at her aura as it shifted and moved around like waves. She smiled and willed her body to move upwards. She rocketed towards the top of the skyscraper, not stopping once she reached it. The girl traveled higher and faster than any human could go, all with a bright smile on her face. 

She closed her eyes and willed her aura to fade. She felt the satisfying warmth cool off and the wind whipped past her body as it fell back towards the city of Atlanta. Clementine didn’t care that she was miles and miles above Atlanta plummeting to the ground below. The sensation of being in the air was like nothing she’s ever felt before. It made her feel like she could take on the world. It made her feel like a bird that was finally let out of its cage. It made her feel free. She wanted to be trapped in this moment forever, carefree and more joyful than ever. 

She heard the screams before she even reached the roof of the building below the skyscraper. She opened her eyes and felt her mind and body go into overdrive. The aura surrounded her once more and she soared through the city, weaving through towers and billboards. She made her way to a small DVD store and saw three men, all dressed in black and carrying guns. The cashier behind the register shook as he tried to open it, flinching whenever the thief in front of him threatened him. Clementine scowled and burst into the store, standing like a hero who was ready for war as the three thieves faced her.

“And who exactly are you supposed to be?” One of them asked.

Clem cracked her knuckles. “The person who’s going to put you in jail.”

The thief closest to the register fired his gun and time slowed for Clementine as she watched the bullet inch towards her. She simply moved her shoulder out of the way and sprung into action as she shot a starry rope towards the man and flung him into the rack of romance movies. The other two dropped their guns and raised their fists, running towards her from both sides. Clementine smirked as she shoved one away and judo-flipped another. The thief she flung into the romance movies ran up behind her and grabbed her. The one she shoved away ran towards her and she took her restriction as an advantage. She jumped up and put her feet on the chest of the guy in front of her and kicked outwards, knocking him and the one holding her over. She broke out of his grasp and punched him in the face, knocking him out cold.

One down, two to go.

Her ears tuned into her surroundings and she heard the footsteps of a man beside her. She outstretched her right hand and sent a burst of electricity at the thief she judo-flipped. He crashed into the fantasy movies and knocked over the gumball machine by the counter. He fell to the gumball covered floor unconscious and looked pathetic as he did. She turned to the final thief and sent a cosmic blast his way with her left hand. He flew into a rack of movies and hit the ground hard, not coming back up. The girl smirked at her work and turned to the cashier.

“Are you okay?” She asked.

The casher trembled in fear. “Y-Y-Yes. I-I-I’m fine. Thank you, ...uhhh…”

The brunette blinked once she realize she didn’t have a name to give to the man. She couldn’t say her real name, that would cause a ton of complications. 

Clementine shook her head. “I, uhh… I don’t have a name right now… if that makes sense.”

The cashier nodded. “Yea, you need to make a suit first. Every superhero needs a suit.”

The girl froze. Of course he thought she was superhero. She had powers and she just saved his tail. Who would think differently? 

The brunette thought about it for a bit. Maybe being a superhero wasn’t a bad thing. It felt good to use her powers more, and saving this man made her feel like she could punch anyone who tried to commit world domination. It felt… amazing. She liked the feeling, she wanted to do it again. 

The cashier grabbed the phone and called 911 as Clementine turned around and started to walk away. Maybe Louis was right. Maybe she did want to be a superhero. Her powers were still a mystery, but saying that she still wanted them gone would be a lie. It was time for Clementine Everett to be a superhero, but first she needed a suit.


	6. Let The Party Begin

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *Rolls in with a pina colada and shades*
> 
> I’m late but hey it happened

“An attempted robbery took place at a local DVD Store in Downtown Atlanta yesterday afternoon. Three men dressed in black barged into the place armed with guns and demanded the cashier to open the register. Shortly after this demand, a female figure burst into the store and took the thieves down one by one, using what appears to be some sort of energy and electricity. Is Atlanta about to see the rise of a superhero, or something sinister?”

Gabe switched the TV off and turned his attention to Clementine, as did Louis and Violet. Clementine brought the glass of tea up to her lips and sipped awkwardly. The three teens gazing at Clementine all watched with different expressions. Violet stared blankly as usual, Gabe stared at Clem like that Nicolas Cage meme, and Louis had a shit-eating grin. He looked like Spongebob when he was asking Squidward if he liked Krabby Patties. Clementine took another sip of tea, this time longer and more awkward.

“So, Clementine,” Gabe began. “Got anything you want to tell us?”

The girl stared at her shoes, finding them to be the most interesting thing at the moment. “I… uhhh… I got an A on my Calculus test.”

“Really?” Violet asked. “What was the answer to number eight?”

“The limit does not exist.”

The blonde went wide-eyed. “...dammit.”

Gabe snapped his fingers. “Earth to Blondie! Houston, we almost lost connection.”

Louis spoke up before Violet could voice a snide remark. “Don’t act like an airhead, Clem. You gave in and decided to test your powers, preventing a robbery while doing so.”

“Shh!” Clementine panicked. “Are you trying to let everyone in Gabe’s house know?!”

“They probably need some sort of fun in their lives. Anyway, what else can you do besides shoot space energy and electricity from your fists like some God?”

“Louis,” Violet chimed in. “I don’t think-”

“Can you fly?”

Clementine sighed. “Yes.”

“How strong are you?”

“I don’t know.”

“Let’s say if I told you to lift a bus full of people-”

“Louis!” Gabe shouted. “Stop.”

Violet gestured to him. “Thank you! Someone who knows better!”

“You’re getting ahead of yourself! We need to plan the suit first!”

“I take it back. He’s an idiot too.”

The two boys started bickering over suit designs as Violet rubbed her temples and Clementine pinched the bridge of her nose. Gabe was thinking of something with a cape while Louis was thinking of making metal part of the suit. Violet gazed at an uncomfortable looking Clementine and swallowed her nonexistent pride. She got up and sat down next to her, her face going red because of the close proximity. Clementine looked up and smiled lightly at the blonde, making her heart do flips and her brain play the Windows XP Error sound. Well… Violet.exe has stopped working. 

“You okay?” Clementine spoke up.

The blonde chuckled softly. “I should be asking you the same thing. Are they not bothering you?”

“Well… it would be better if they stopped treating me like an original character from their upcoming comic book.”

“I’m surprised that they haven’t started planning a catchphrase for you.”

“Don’t jinx it.”

“I, for one, would love to hear you shout ‘lights out’ when you knock people unconscious.”

“As much as I hate it, I’ll keep it in mind just for you.”

Error 404: Violet’s nonchalant behavior not found. Clementine saw her face turn from this confident joking look to one that said ‘I’m boutta head out y’all goodbye peace out losers’. Her face grew red like Tinkerbell again. 

“That’s it,” Clem teased. “I’m calling you Tinkerbell.”

“N-no! Don’t do that!”

“Too late, Tinkerbell.”

Violet covered her burning face with her hands and Clementine laughed. She had a newfound penchant for making the blonde turn redder than a rose. It made her feel happy for some reason. Her stomach got all fluttery like there were butterflies living in it. There was something about the reclusive girl that made Clem get all tingly inside. It was weird… yet pleasant.

Louis and Gabe’s bickering seemed to have summoned Kate García, Gabe’s stepmother. She did not look too happy about the commotion. 

Kate pinched the bridge of her nose. “CAN ONE OF YOU PLEASE TELL ME WHY YOU’RE YELLING ABOUT SUPERHERO SUITS?!”

Louis and Gabe both shut up and shared a panicked look. They nervously smiled and spoke in unison, “English assignment.” 

“Could you maybe argue about your schoolwork later? I was taking a nap.”

Kate left the room after both of the boys nodded so hard that they probably got brain damage. Gabe and Louis looked over at Violet and Clementine who did not look amused whatsoever. 

Louis winced. “We’ll shut up now.”

Clementine nodded. “Please do.”

~~~

School was loud as usual. The number of kids in the cafeteria made the whole room sound like some sort of frat house in the middle of a party. The brunette could have sworn she heard Mitch Granville shouting at Marlon O’Connor to poke a hole at the bottom of his soda can and shotgun it. Ruby McAdams sat with Brody and the two girls watched with concern as the boys across from them acted like fools. Clementine was pretty sure she saw Brody pull out her phone and enter 911, ready to press call when something took a turn for the worse. Marlon ended up choking on his soda and Omar Davis had to run over and give him the Heimlich Maneuver. 

Clementine rolled her eyes and turned back to her Calculus homework, only gazing at the confusing graphs for a moment before Gabe thrust an open notebook full of doodles in her face. Clementine plucked it out of his grasp and raised an eyebrow.

“What are these?”

“You!”

“Excuse me, Jack Dawson?”

Gabe pointed to a curly haired figure with a cape, a long-sleeved shirt, a skirt, and Converse. “You as a superhero! There’s also this one.” He then pointed to another curly haired figure with a metallic looking bodysuit and a metal headpiece that looked like some sort of variation of an Athenian war helmet. 

“You like the cape better than the metal right? Please say you do because Louis is so adamant on-“

“Neither of them.”

“...what?”

“I like neither of them.”

Gabe was flabbergasted as he took the notebook back. “I thought I could trust you, Clementine Everett.”

“You thought wrong.”

Louis came over and threw an arm around each of their shoulders. He flashed his trademark grin and looked at the notebook full of drawings. He let out a tut and pointed at the suit with the cape.

“Did Edna Mode teach you nothing? No capes.”

“Dude, capes are cool.”

“I trust Edna Mode to make a suit more than I trust Gabriel García.” 

“Okay you know what-“

“Shh shh shh! Everyone, it’s him!”

Clementine raised an eyebrow and looked to where Louis’s gaze was. “Who?”

The boy grabbed her jaw and moved her head around until she saw him. Aasim Singhal. This kid could definitely catch the Golden Snitch during a Quidditch match and lock in Ravenclaw’s victory. He could probably get Professor Snape to reward him house points for his superior intellect. Aasim was a straight A student whose mind was slam packed full of random trivia facts and educational stuff. If you asked him to explain if there were more than three states of matter, he’d probably tell you in a way that’d make you question life. 

Aasim sat down next to James Kim, a boy Clementine recognized from Anatomy in Junior year. He wanted to be a surgeon if she remembered correctly. He cared so much for people, she wouldn’t be surprised if she saw him organizing a protest in the future.

“I don’t get it,” Gabe spoke. “What’s so special about Aasim?”

Louis gasped and stared at Gabe like he just killed a ladybug. “Why don’t you go step on my pet turtle while you’re at it?! Actually don’t. Geoff is my lifeline.”

“Wait wait what? Can we get back to Aasim?”

“Gladly! Aasim is the peanut butter to my jelly, the cookie to my cream, the Romeo to my Juliet! When I first saw him I was all ‘Did my heart love till now? Forswear it, sight! For I ne'er saw true beauty till this night.’ It was like Shakespeare himself came back from the dead!”

Gabe stared blankly. “...meaning?”

“Dude,” Clementine chimed in, definitely closing the goddamn door on this one. “He has a crush on Aasim.”

Louis clapped. “Four for you, Glen Coco! You go, Glen Coco!” He then turned to Gabe. “And none for Gretchen Weiners.”

Gabe seemed to have choked on his own spit. Omar heard and got into running stance, ready to save another life today. Gabe just held out the scuba diving hand signal for okay and he backed off.

“You? You have a crush on Aasim?”

“Yup! He’s a bonafide Einstein.”

“Oh my god…”

Louis stared starry-eyed at Aasim while Gabe got back to his drawings. Clementine rolled her eyes at both of them and was about to get back to her Calculus work when she saw a familiar blonde figure walking outside the cafeteria. She decided that hanging with her was better than being in a boxed surround sound system and hurriedly packed her things back into her backpack. Clem made her way outside the cafeteria and spotted the girl once more. 

“Violet!” No response. The blonde just kept walking. “Violet!?”

“She probably has earbuds in,” Clem’s brain pointed out.

Clementine made sure she was away from the cafeteria windows and that no one was around before she willed her powers to propel her into the air. The girl smiled as she levitated and glowed, her aura basking her in a beautiful supernova color scheme. She flew overhead the blonde and levitated upside down in front of her. Violet’s eyes went wide and she shrieked, clearly disturbed by a levitating and glowing Clementine.

“Ignoring me, Tinkerbell?” The brunette teased, a smirk on her face. 

Violet wasn’t sure how to react other than to have a total brain malfunction. She hasn’t seen Clementine’s powers in action yet—other than on the news—so this was something amazing to her. The brunette in front of her glowed brightly but not burn your eyes out brightly. Her body was encased in an aura of gold, blue, and a faint purple. Violet noticed that her eyes held a tinge of gold as well, slightly more than usual. The aura seemed to have enhanced the brightness of her eyes, making them shine and captivate the subject of their attention. Loose strands of her hair swayed through her energy, brushing her cheeks ever so slightly. She was beautiful to put it lightly, and Violet was much aware of this fact.

“I-I-I,” Violet stammered. “I w-wasn’t ignoring you…”

“Obviously. You just couldn’t hear me because of these,” Clementine tapped her earbuds and lightly tugged one out. She held it up to her ear and chuckled. “Hazy Shade of Winter by Gerard Way? Let me guess: you like The Umbrella Academy.”

“Yea, so?”

“I’m not judging! It’s a great show.”

Violet pursed her lips in thought. “Favorite character?”

“Five. Yours?”

“Vanya.”

“Oh she’s good too.”

“She’s played by Ellen Page, of course she is.”

The two girls smiled at each other and for a moment in time everything seemed to grow still. They seemed to forget about their worries and the world surrounding them. They only seemed to care about each other.

A door opening knocked them out of their trance and Clementine flew to the roof, taking a Spider-Man crouch on the ledge. A man who looked to be about in his 40s walked out of a hallway and saw Violet. His expression immediately turned sour.

“Roaming the halls again, Miss Johnson?” 

“Mr. Lingard! Hi! Umm-“

“Save it. You’re always skipping lunch or some class, especially mine. Detention. Tomorrow.”

“But-“

Clementine came down from the roof a few feet behind Mr. Lingard and ran up to them, putting on a relieved facade. “Violet! There you are! I thought we were meeting in my dad’s classroom.”

Mr. Lingard looked shocked. “What business does she have with your father, Clementine?”

“We were just going to hang out during lunch. It’s not a problem, is it?”

“...no. I guess not. Fine, you’re free to go, Miss Johnson. But if I ever catch you skipping class or lunch again-“

Violet sighed. “I know, I know. Detention.”

“Good,” the man simply replied. He turned to Clementine with a kind smile before walking off.

The two girls shared a look before busting out into laughter. Their laughs rang throughout the courtyard, surprisingly not catching anyone’s attention. Violet nearly had tears running out of her eyes and Clementine was slightly hunched over. The whole situation seemed to be the funniest thing to them.

Their moment was cut short when they heard snapping and two voices humming harmoniously. They looked over and saw Gabe and Louis snapping towards them like they were the Jets from West Side Story. It was… pretty unnerving.

Violet scowled. “What are you dorks doing?”

The two boys stood in front of them, still snapping. Louis smiled. “Making a theme song.”

“What?”

“Shh shh shh, just listen. Take it away, Gabe.”

Gabe started to sway a bit while he snapped. Then he opened his mouth and started singing. Oh no, he’s singing.

“What’s that in the air? Definitely not a shooting star. Leaving behind a trace of electricity and light, she’ll make sure to turn off your li-“ Clementine lit her fist and held it up, causing the boy to retract. “OKAY OKAY I’M SORRY!”

She turned off the light show and raised an eyebrow at Louis. “Was this your idea?”

“Well, uh, ya know….,” he stammered before releasing a sigh. “Yes.”

A light bulb went off above Clementine’s head and she smirked. “And to think that I was going to draw my suit idea for you. Guess I’ll have to find someone else.”

“No! No! Draw it! Please please please!”

“Promise not to make a theme song.”

“Fine, I promise!” He grabbed Gabe’s journal out of his backpack and threw it at Clem. “Now draw it! The suspense is killing me!”

Clementine opened Gabe’s journal back to the page where the two other suits were and made some modifications to the metal one. She tapped the eraser on her chin before deciding she was done. She then gave it back to the boys who looked it over.

“You sure?” Gabe asked.

“Positive,” The brunette declared.

Louis smiled and took a photo of the drawing. “Chairles and I will get right on it! See ya!”

The eccentric boy then grabbed Gabe by the arm and ran off to their shared class. The bell rang, signaling that lunch was over. Kids started piling out of the cafeteria and the two girls looked at each other.

“What’s your next class?” Violet asked.

“Mythology, one of my favorites. Yours?”

“Promise you won’t laugh?”

“I promise.”

“...Computer Programming.”

“Why would I laugh? That’s cool as hell!”

Violet’s face went red again as she looked taken back. “I-I-It is?”

“Yea? What makes you think otherwise?”

The blonde rubbed the back of her neck. “Because I’m a loner. I come off as someone who cares about nothing and just wants to break the law, not someone who’d be interested in Geek Squad shit.”

“You don’t really come off as someone who’d wanna help make iPhones and such. ...Do you wanna be hacker?”

“...basically. I mean the thought is cool as hell and I can do some things.”

“So you are one?”

“Not professional but yea.”

Violet Johnson is a hacker. Clementine made sure to write that down in her mental notebook and place it next to “probably knows all the constellations by heart because she’s a cute Astronomy nerd”. Wait, cute Astronomy nerd? Where did that one come from?

“Anyway, I gotta get going,” Violet said, snapping Clementine out of her thoughts. “See ya.”

The blonde started to walk off into the sea of kids before Clementine shouted her name. She looked back with a questioning look.

“You don’t come off as a loner, well you do to an extent but you’re pretty cool. I mean we’re friends now so that should say something,” Clementine informed her.

Violet’s face went red again and she chuckled nervously. She did an awkward set of finger guns and turned around to walk away. The act would have been just a tiny bit awkward if she didn’t walk into a metal pole. Now it was mega awkward. Clementine winced and watched as the girl sped off after the event, finding the act embarrassing yet cute at the same time.

~~~

“Clementine!” Lee shouted. “There’s a package for you! It’s from Louis!”

“Okay… that was fast. Does he not have anything to do after school?” The brunette thought to herself.

She happily accepted the box when Lee brought it to her door and shut it after he left, saying she had to do homework. She put the box on her bed and opened it, smiling when she saw her suit. A note was on top of it. She picked it up and read it.

“Chairles modified it to fit all kinds of conditions and made some gadgets for you. Have fun!  
Your pal, Louis.”

Clementine chuckled and set the note on her table. She pulled the suit out and went to work at trying it on. When she was done, she looked over at herself in her mirror and nearly screamed.

The suit was a bodysuit made up of shimmery spandex. It was black with persian blue bands going around her arms and legs. She had a big persian blue blob on her torso that resembled the white area of an animal onesie, specifically the koala one. Her shoes were made of black metal and reached her knees, providing protection for her knees, lower legs, and so on. A utility belt full of the gadget Louis mentioned was around her waist. A quick peek into the pouches informed Clementine that she had smoke bombs and stun grenades among other things. The most prominent features had to be the black domino mask on her face and the white star on her chest, her symbol. Now she needed a name.

“Come on, Clementine. You can’t be a superhero without a name. Astrogirl? No. Interstellar? Yikes.” The girl rubbed her temples. “Okay okay okay. You got your powers from a star, you can use the star’s power, you can shock people- wait…”

Clementine put two and two together. Starshock. It was perfect. It fit perfectly. It just seemed right. She loved it. Yet her moment of triumph was short-lived when she heard an alert go off on her phone. She picked it up and read it.

“Break in at Washington Tower. Culprit is the large metal man responsible for yesterday’s bank robbery.”

Clementine shut her phone off and scowled. She stuffed some pillows under her blanket to make it seem like she was sleeping and put her hair up into a bun. She opened her bedroom window and took in a nervous breath. 

It was time to bring Starshock to life.


	7. A Striking Battle

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Me before: I’m gonna try to let my updates never exceed two weeks
> 
> Me now: I am Booboo the Fool

Washington Tower was a tall corporate building in Atlanta. It stood high above the park’s trees and the rest of the city buildings, the many windows tinted so dark that none could see inside. Its use was to monitor the finances and projects of Washington Corporations and store all the useful information in its database. All of the information stored behind its walls were necessary for Washington Corporations to thrive. It was a very important building, which made it the perfect target for a crime.

Which is exactly what was happening.

Dozens of police cars and a few SWAT teams surrounded the building, the majority of their numbers being focused around the main entrance. Men dressed in black and armed to the teeth stood on the windowsills of the tower and opened fire onto the law enforcement officers below. The officers fired back with their measly pistols, not exactly doing any damage to their enemies who were armed with assault rifles and grenades. The crowd that formed in the distance quickly dispersed once the gun show began. They ran away in a panic and their screams traveled far and wide. Mothers picked up their children, husbands pushed their wives in front of them, everyone sought out to get their loved ones away from harm.

“Atlanta Police Department!” A man clad in metal shouted as he made his appearance at the fifth story window.

His face held a dozen or more traumas and he wore a scowl. His stubble was faint and his hair was graying. The wrinkles adorning his face marked him to be in either his mid or late 40s. He looked like the kind of man who would be escorted out of a Walmart for demanding to speak to the manager because the cashier couldn’t scan his coupon due to it being expired. The metal on his arms and legs were connected via wiring and some even went into his flesh. How did he take it off? No one knew. Maybe he slept in it like some creep.

A helicopter flew in bearing the symbol of a news channel. A man with a camera on his shoulder sat on the side of the open door and filmed the event.

“My name is William Carver, but you can call me Striker!” He announced. “Washington Corporations made something that we wanted, but it was taken from us by some damn kid. Now we have to stir up trouble. And what better way to stir up trouble than to steal information from Washington Corporations as well. We’re killing two birds with one stone, you see? We’re getting what we want and we’re stealing important data from this fucking place.”

A figure dressed in black and blue landed on the rooftop of a building across from the tower. She stood tall and watched the scene in front of her like a hawk, analyzing every intricate detail she could find. The front was well guarded from all angles, but Striker’s henchmen seemed to be too preoccupied with the cops to deal with anything else. She felt a gaze on her and turned her attention to Striker. He smirked creepily at her and the female shivered. She could have sworn that she saw him mouth “there you are”.

“Creepy,” Clementine—who was now playing the role of Starshock—thought. “I’m going to enjoy putting this guy in jail.”

Striker let out a high-pitched whistle and waved his hand. He walked back into the building and the men positioned at the windows followed suit. Clementine looked at the ground where the police were and saw ten armed men blocking their way.

“Let’s clear things up,” she thought.

The girl shot a rope out and let it wrap itself around a light post. She then swung down to the ground, landing on top of a SWAT truck with a loud thud. A few of the officers aimed their guns at her, which was reasonable. The news helicopter trained the camera on her since she was in the action now.

Clementine held her hands up. “It’s okay! I’m here to help! I promise!”

“How do we know you’re not lying?!” An officer exclaimed.

“If I wanted to hurt you then I would have done it already. Look, we have more important things to take care of: stopping Striker and securing whatever information he wants. Now you’re either with me or against me. Which will it be?”

The officers wavered in their stance. The female’s words seemed to flip a switch in them and made them use their brains. They aimed their guns back at the henchmen and Clementine smirked. The law enforcement was on her side and it felt amazing. The newly turned superhuman hopped off of the SWAT truck and onto the ground. She motioned for the police to hold their fire as she approached Striker’s men.

“Now, we can either do this the easy way or the hard way,” the girl started. “The easy way is you giving up. The hard way is you forcing my hand and me having to kick all of your asses. I’ll let you decide which option you want to take.”

The men all looked at each other in confusion, then they started laughing. Laughing? Why were they laughing? Was Clementine not threatening enough? Was that why?

A few of the men hunched over and that seemed to get the girl mad. “Hey! What the hell?!”

After a few more moments, the men stopped laughing and wiped away stray tears. The man in the center turned his attention to Clementine.

“We’re sorry!” He chuckled. “It’s just that you’re so short! It’s like hearing a baby bunny threaten you over a carrot!”

Clementine clenched her fists and felt her face grow hot. “What?”

The man regained his composure. “You heard what I said, kid. Anyway, back to business. Get her, Freddie.”

The man named Freddie ran towards Clementine, a serrated blade in hand. The female focused on his steps and she grabbed him by the collar when he was close enough, throwing him over her shoulder. He hit the computer and radio of one of the police cars and suddenly I Love It by Icona Pop started playing. Everyone stopped what they were doing to stare at the officer that the car belonged to. The officer curled in on himself as everyone’s confused yet curious attention was now on him. 

“What?!” He shrieked. “It’s a good song!”

“Jeff,” another officer sighed. “No. Turn it off.”

Jeff turned and looked at the controls, wincing when he saw that they were broken. He looked back and shrugged nervously. “Yea about that… the controls are broken.”

Clementine chuckled, turning back to Striker’s men. “Guess I’ll fight with style then.”

A man let out a scream and charged at the girl, a fist raised in the air. She smirked as her reflexes kicked in and she grabbed his fist with ease. She used his arm as leverage and swung herself up and over, proceeding to land on his shoulders. The brunette locked her legs around his neck and proceeded to squeeze tight enough to render him unconscious. The man fought desperately as he gasped for air, tugging and clawing at her metal boots. In a frantic attempt to pry the girl off of his shoulders, the man pulled a knife and thrust it towards her. She caught his wrist and scowled.

“That’s not how you treat someone that’s only trying to make you unconscious,” Starshock scolded in a taunting manner.

She twisted his wrist and the man gasped as pain shot through it. He dropped the blade and fell to his knees. Two other men raised their guns at her and reloaded. Clementine’s head moved so fast and time slowed. She watched as their fingers started to pull the triggers and she leapt backwards off the man’s shoulders, making sure to kick him face first into the concrete. The guns fired and the bullets left their chambers. The superheroine raised her metal boots midair and felt it as the bullets collided with them, sending a small amount of vibrations through them. The bullets burst upon impact and soon they stopped coming. The superheroine twisted in the air and made sure to land on her feet in a crouched position, standing up once she was stable enough.

“Okay, not going to lie,” she began. “I didn’t think that would work.”

Another man let out a growl as he threw his gun down. “AMBUSH HER!”

The masked teen smirked and watched as the remaining eight men dropped their guns and charged. She willed her line of rope into existence and swiped. The rope slapped at the ankles of the men and they all fell like bowling pins. Clementine could practically hear the Wii Sports guy shouting out “Strike!”. Oh Wii Sports sounded fun right now, but so did Mario Kart. Maybe Gabe would want to play one of those games sometime soon.

The brunette was so lost in nostalgia that she didn’t notice one of the henchmen standing up. He pulled out a machete and rushed towards her. The girl turned and her eyes widened at how close he was to her. Well it was that and the giant blade in his hand. Before she could even think, she felt herself bending backwards and placing her palms on the concrete. The lower half of her body swung up from the ground and her left boot kicked the machete maniac in the jaw. She fell into a crouch for a split second and launched herself towards the man, encasing herself in her trademark aura and rocketing them both into the glass doors of the tower. Glass shattered and hit the ground around the girl as she pinned the man to the tile behind him. She punched the side of his face and knocked him out cold. She stood and heard the sound of cocking guns around her.

Her eyes darted around with a fire in them as they took in everything around the female. Six men, all holding AK-103s that were aimed at her and ready to fire. The girl breathed deeply, calming her muscles and her mind. Her eyes closed, her heart beat softly in her chest. The first bullet whizzed out of its chamber with a loud bang and she opened her eyes, turning her head to see the bullet coming at her in slow motion. She moved out of the way and watched it implant itself into another man’s shoulder, sending him falling. Two more shots went off in front of her and the girl ran forward, dropping to her knees and sliding across the floor underneath them. She kicked her leg out and twisted around, swiping the two men off their feet. They hit the tile with a thud and the female made sure to shock both of them unconscious. 

Another shot rang out from behind her and she whipped around. She expected to see a bullet flying towards her but what she got was the image of a fourth henchman falling to the floor after taking a bullet to the rib cage. The man fell to reveal Jeff—the cop with the music taste that was apparently questionable—standing behind him with his gun up. He turned to Clementine and nodded, earning a grateful smile in return. The rest of the cops and the SWAT team ran in and took down the remaining two men. They then handcuffed the six unfortunate souls who had the duty of keeping Starshock at bay. 

The leader of the SWAT team walked up to Clementine. “Quick reconnaissance showed that Striker is in the data room on the top floor. The quickest way there is through the elevator shaft. Good luck.”

The brunette smiled. “Thanks for the help.”

“We’re the ones who should be thanking you for the help.”

The masked teen then took off down a hallway in search of a pair of elevator doors. A short sprint led her to meet a pair of gold elevator doors with a control panel next to them. Figuring that the power to the elevators was cut off, the brunette dug her fingers as far as she could into the crack between the doors. She pushed with all her might and started to wedge the doors open. A strong shove sent the doors back into their wall spacings and revealed a creepy elevator shaft. It was no Tower of Terror, but it still made the girl’s skin crawl. The girl gazed up the shaft and gave herself slight neck pain while doing so.

“Good thing I can fly,” she quipped before doing just that.

Metal beams zipped past her, some wires made strange noises while others snapped, and the elevators hung by their giant metal rope. The elevator shaft unsettled Clementine. Her mind kept racing back to the preposterous possibility of an elevator snapping free from its chains and crashing on top of her. At least she would be outside the enclosed metal box rather than inside. Being inside would definitely be way worse.

The end of the shaft drew closer and closer and Clementine could start to make out the last pair of gold elevator doors at the top. She willed herself to fly faster towards the top. Once there, she burst through the elevator doors and sent them flying outwards. Unfortunately the two guards positioned in the hallway were caught in the middle of the elevator door discus tournament. The elevator doors slammed into them and toppled them over before skidding across the floor behind them. Clementine winced and awkwardly ran over to the unconscious men.

“Please don’t be dead!” She looked at their chests and saw them rising and falling. “Oh thank God! Umm, sorry for the concussions or brain damage or whatever you guys will have in the morning…”

The doors leading to the data room were gold as well. They bore intricate lines that gave them a bit of pizazz as well as a keycard scanner installed in the wall next to them. Striker must’ve stolen a keycard and got in the easy way. Of course the hard way in would be reserved for Clementine. The girl looked around for a way in until she found an air vent in the ceiling. She flew up and entered the vent that was just big enough for her. Crawling around quietly proved to be a feat. The metal of her boots banged against the numerous pipes which sent vibrations all throughout the maze in the ceiling. She finally made her way to a vent that served as her entrance into the data room. A glance through the grate allowed her to see Striker sitting at a giant terminal, downloading data onto a flash drive and talking to someone.

“Are you collecting the data we need?” A female voice asked through the speaker of his comms.

“Shipments, production lines, projects, all that scientific stuff is here.”

“Good. What about the girl?”

“She’s here too. I last saw her outside on the roof of the opposite building.”

“Everything is going smoothly. You remember the protocol for her, right?”

Striker pulled out a gun and loaded it with something that Clementine couldn’t see. “Take what we need then eliminate her.”

“Precisely. Do not fail me, Carver. Over and out.” 

The call ended, leaving Striker alone to do his business. Clementine felt her heart beating so fast that it felt like it was about to explode. Her adrenaline gave her stress and her stress caused her brain to go haywire. They were looking for her. They wanted something from her. They wanted to kill her.

The grate the girl was on broke underneath her weight and she fell, slamming into the tile below. She groaned and stood up, holding her head as she winced in pain. The teen raised her head to look up and came face to face with Striker. His creepy smile paralyzed her. Her blood ran cold and her palms started to feel sweaty.

Striker chuckled. “About time you showed up. I was getting bored up here.”

Clementine quickly regained her composure. “You’re gonna hate jail then.”

“You shouldn’t be cocky, especially when this is your first rodeo.”

“It’s called being confident in your abilities.”

“No. It’s called overestimating yourself, and it’ll get you killed.”

The masked girl scoffed and raised her fists, setting them alight. “Enough talk. I’m here to end this.”

Striker clenched his fists and smirked. “Go ahead.”

Clementine flew at him with her fist pulled back, ready to knock him into the Earth’s core. Surprisingly, he grabbed her mid flight and threw her across the room. She crashed into some filing cabinets and dent them so much that they were beyond repair. The girl quickly got up and attempted the same maneuver, only to be thrown like a rag doll yet again. 

For her first fight against a villain, she wasn’t doing so good. He had super strength somehow so that was an automatic red flag. She kept trying to attack him but he kept stopping her in the act. Her punches were met with him slamming her onto the floor, and her kicks were met with more games of toss the superhero. She went for another jab and he twisted her arm, earning a painful cry from the girl. He then kicked her in the stomach, sending her flying backwards and into a desk. She slumped to the floor and breathed heavily. The act only caused her ribs and stomach to hurt. She was sore, she was tired, she was bruised. Maybe, just maybe, this was a bad idea.

The girl looked up at the man and took in all of him, her eyes widening upon examining his metal body armor. That was the source of his strength. It had to be. If he’s just like that genetically then… yea no that’s too much to process.

“A power surge should burn the wiring in the thing, then he’ll be normal,” The brunette thought.

A ding went off and Striker pulled the flash drive out of the USB port. “I got half of what I need. Time to take the other half.”

He pulled out the gun from earlier and Clementine pursed her lips, bracing herself. She readied herself for the loud bang. She had to time everything right if she were to take him down. The bang sounded and Clem shot up off the ground, avoiding what appeared to be a tranquilizer dart. She started coming down onto the man like bullet but curved out of the way once he reached out to grab her. She grabbed his arm and swung herself into a standing position on his shoulders. The electricity inside of her surged and the female released it all throughout her feet and hands. Tendrils of electricity danced all over Striker’s body as he cried out and convulsed. He finally stopped convulsing and dropped to the floor unconscious. The girl willed her power to stop and stepped off of his back. She smiled at her victory and took the flash drive off of his person, pocketing it and proceeding to grab the villain by the arm. It was time for the law to deal with him.

~~~

The door of the cop car slammed shut as William Carver was laid flat in the backseat. Clementine gave the flash drive to a cop and let her take it away. The police and SWAT all either nodded or gave Clem a thumbs up as a way to say thank you. The girl smiled and nodded back to each and every one of them. She was about to take off and sneak back into her room when she was tapped on the shoulder from behind. She turned and saw a news reporter and a cameraman.

“Excellent work out there! If it weren’t for you then that fiend would have succeeded in his plans! Tell me, what was it like fighting him?”

The girl was taken back for a bit. “Umm, it was hard. He got a lot of hits in and I’m pretty sure I got some bruised ribs or something. But I’ll be fine.”

The reporter nodded. “Now, who are you? What is your name?”

This was it. This was her big moment. Those watching at home will learn her name. Then word will spread across the nation, then soon the entire world will know her name. They’ll know what she stood for, they’ll know they can count on her to save them.

The girl smiled and turned to the camera. “Starshock. My name is Starshock.”


	8. A Case of Adrenaline

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, I’m terrible at updating. But I did it.

The next day at school was met with students talking about Starshock in either boisterous voices or hushed murmurs. The majority of the teenagers were excited for a superhero to be real while the others were still trying to process the whole thing. It was weird for Clementine to hear people talking about her but not knowing they were talking about her. Whenever someone said something slightly mean she desperately wanted to jump in and shout “Hey! Stop talking about me then!”, but that would ruin her entire career. Her identity was a secret and it was important that it remained that way.

The McDonald’s she went to after school was slightly better. That is if she ignored the stares from Gabe, Violet, and Louis whenever a worker so much as mentioned crime. The TV in the corner didn’t help her case. During the entire News segment, they talked about her stopping the break in at Washington Tower, they even showed some footage that was recorded. She awkwardly sipped her Coke and braced herself for the incoming assault of comments and concerns but the trio stayed silent. That scared Clementine way more and for once the girl wished that she was being interrogated.

The four friends ate and happily talked amongst themselves. With their conversations ranging from bad teachers to memes, everything was perfect in that moment. Until Violet stopped eating her chicken nuggets and reached for her backpack. Clementine and Gabe watched in confusion as Louis nearly had a panic attack and Violet pulled out a small stack of photos. She tapped them on the table and made sure that they were all in a neat pile, fixing any of them that were out of line.

Gabe bit into his Big Mac. “Wuh are you-“

With the speed of a thousand Valkyries, Violet slammed the photos on the table in front of Gabe. Louis and Clementine flinched at the unexpected act from their blonde friend. Gabe stared at Violet confused and watched as she gestured for him to look at the photos.

“I have maybe ten photos,” she began. “And they all show trash. This trash is all from one place. Can you tell me where this trash is from?”

Gabe sifted through the stack of photos, his eyebrows furrowing in immense thought. The photos he held all contained various clothes laying around, plastic cups, and crumpled up pieces of paper. To put it lightly, the place in the photos was a mess.

He looked up at Violet as he set the photos down. “Uhh… a junkyard?”

“They’re all showing piles of trash from your room!”

“Oh, that makes sense. I thought I recognized that Star Wars shirt. Also, you’re gonna pull a Brooklyn Nine-Nine on me? Really?”

The blonde grimaced. “You have a major problem.”

Suddenly Clementine remembered something. “Wait. Violet, when we were at Gabe’s house, was that why you were on the floor outside his room and sticking your arm inside with your phone in hand? You were taking pictures?”

Violet stared blankly for a good five seconds. “....maybe.”

Gabe set down his burger and tossed the photos back to the girl. “Maybe you have a problem.”

“My room is actually clean, Gabe.”

“So is mine.”

“Your room gives me anxiety! What are you on?!”

“I know where everything is! Go into my room-“

“I’d rather die.”

“Fair enough.”

Clementine and Louis watched on in bewilderment. Hearing the two get in a heated debate over the state of Gabe’s room was, well, stark raving mad. Where was the popcorn when it was needed? Their bickering started to gain the attention of other customers and the employees, so Louis and Clementine both put their hands over the mouths of their respective best friend. Gabe flinched at Clementine’s hand slapping over his mouth while Violet glared at Louis and licked his hand. Louis shrieked and pulled his hand away, looking at the blonde in disgust as she smirked.

“What are you? Five?” He shot at her.

“Violet used hand lick,” the girl replied. “It was super effective.”

Clementine removed her hand from Gabe’s mouth and laughed. She opened her mouth to speak but Louis gasped before she could. The eccentric teenager looked around the table in a panicked state before setting his gaze on the hoodie Violet was wearing. He grabbed the hem of it and put it over his head, laying down in the booth so his head was where her stomach would be. The girl wore a black shirt underneath so no harm was done… yet. The other three were confused by this act until Aasim walked over to their table. 

The teen in question raised an eyebrow. “Is Louis under your hoodie?”

“Uhhhh,” Violet began. “...N-No… I’m pregnant?”

“You’re a Lesbian.”

“I’m the next Virgin Mary?”

Aasim shook his head. “Forget it. I just came to warn you that Minerva is coming. Thought you should know.”

Aasim gave Violet a sympathetic look and walked back to his table where James was at, leaving the now tense blonde to process what he told her. Louis left his pathetic hiding spot and stared at the girl with concern written all over his features. Gabe and Clementine shared a questioning gaze before the curly haired girl spoke up.

“Who’s Minerva?”

Violet and Louis stared at her like she just stole their sixty four pack of crayons. Neither of them made any indication that they were going to explain. The door to the McDonald’s opened and in walked a pair of redheads. The two females appeared to be twins, one had long hair while the other had short hair that seemed to be shaved a bit on the side. While the long haired twin looked like you could approach her for anything, the short haired twin looked like she’d slap you for asking what color the Pink Panther was. Yea… it’s a stupid question, but it didn’t deserve a slap to the face.

Violet immediately ducked under the table upon seeing the twins walk in. The short haired twin noticed Louis and walked over. Clementine felt the blonde underneath the table inch closer towards the wall.

The redhead glanced at Clementine curiously before turning back to Louis. “It’s unlike you to be out with people other than Violet.” 

Louis glared. “Like you care for her, Minerva.”

“I never said I did.”

It was Clementine’s turn to glare. “Then why are you here?”

Minerva turned to Clementine and took in every detail of her face. The prolonged silence paired with the redhead’s face only made Clementine mad. How dare she say that about Violet? The girl didn’t have all the details, but if Louis didn’t like her then she didn’t either. 

The brunette felt her fists grow warm under the table and she knew that they were charging up with energy. She felt a hand grab one fist and her breath hitched in her throat. Violet Johnson was holding her hand, holy shit holy shit holy shit. Her mind blanked and Clementine felt her chest get all swirly. It was confusing. Why was she feeling this way? Violet was just a girl. She was just a friend. Right?

All of Clementine’s coherent thoughts left once more when she felt Violet’s thumb rub circles on the back of her hand. She was trying to calm her, that’s what she was doing. The temperature of her fists died down back to normal and the brunette expected the blonde to release her closed fist from her grasp. Instead she opened it up and placed her hand in hers, lacing their fingers together as well. She squeezed lightly as if to say that she was here to keep her grounded. 

Her feelings came back to her and she furrowed her eyebrows. Were they platonic? Did she think of Violet as just a friend? Answers to come whenever they fucking please.

Clementine ignored the gut feeling that perhaps her feelings weren’t entirely so platonic and breathed. In and out. She opened her eyes and squeezed Violet’s hand back before frowning at Minerva once more. “Well? I’m waiting.”

Minerva growled. “Just wanted to check something. Is that too much of a shock to you?”

Clementine’s blood ran cold and her grip on Violet’s hand tightened. She could be overthinking it, but maybe Minnie knew about her alter ego. No, that’s impossible. She couldn’t have known. There was just no way. 

“Minnie!” The redhead’s long haired twin called from a table. “You coming?”

“Yea I am, Sophie!” Minerva replied. She turned back to Clementine and glared before walking over to her sister.

Clementine leaned over to Gabe and Louis once she disappeared. “Do you think she knows?”

“No,” Gabe spoke. “Why would she?”

“It sounded like she did,” Violet piped up from under the table. “I’d be cautious around her.”

Louis raised an eyebrow. “You can get up from the ground now.”

There was a silence as the blonde thought it over. “No thanks. She’s still in the building.”

Clementine smiled and shook her head as she turned back to the television in the fast food joint. The news channel continued on with their report about Starshock’s act of vigilantism. Many praises were thrown around which inflated the girl’s pride. It only took one small video of Striker being taken to jail for the girl’s smile to falter. The video showed the man being pulled out of a police cruiser and led into a prison. But what he turned to the camera and said was what made the girl lose her cool.

“Watch your back, little girl. The boss is gonna kill ya and I’m gonna watch as she strips you of your powers and snaps your spine in two.”

Her chest grew heavy and her mind spun. The reality of her new role hit her like runaway bullet train. This wasn’t a game, this wasn’t something that could be treated lightly. This was something that played a game of seesaw on the line between life and death. She was a target to many who saw her as a pawn in their game of chess. Many who wanted her dead. Even though she was the main target, her loved ones were in danger as well. They were associated with her, that’s more than enough reason for a sniper to come around one day and put a bullet in their head. Lee, AJ, Louis, Violet, and Gabe… they were all at risk. One wrong move and her identity would be revealed and they would all die. And it’d be all her fault.

The realization came too much to bear and her heart beat faster against her chest. Her breathing quickened and she heard ringing in her ears. She saw Louis asking her something but she couldn’t hear him. Gabe leaned over to look at her in concern and she flinched away from him. Her head pounded from all the insane thoughts that sent her into a downward spiral. She needed to leave. She needed to get out of here. She let go of Violet’s hand and made her way out of the booth, ignoring the blonde’s hand reaching for her. She darted towards the door and sprinted away from the fast food joint.

“Clementine!” Violet shouted after crawling out from underneath the table. The blonde ran after the brunette, ignoring Louis and Gabe calling after her.

The blonde sped into the parking lot of the McDonald’s and watched as a beam of light sped off through the sky. She groaned in exasperation and let a soft yet worried look etch across her features.

“Oh, Clem. Let me help you.”

Gabe and Louis ran out and the Garcia boy sighed. “Let her go. I learned the hard way that it’s best for her to deal with stuff on her own.”

Louis frowned. “She shouldn’t have to.”

The blonde paid no attention to the two boys. Instead she turned around to gaze at the skyscraper in the distance, still standing with the broken windows from the night before. A determined expression took over her face and she straightened her posture. A match was lit and a newfound fire burned in her eyes. She was going to help Clementine.

“No,” Louis spoke once he realized his best friend’s thoughts. “You’re not. I won’t let you.”

The blonde scowled. “What I do isn’t up to anyone.”

“....be safe then.”

“I will. Don’t worry.”

The girl then ran off towards the skyscraper, leaving the boys alone. Louis pulled out his phone and scrolled down to the contact that said Chairles.

“What are you doing?” Gabe asked.

“Calling Chairles,” Louis answered. “We’re going to help Violet from the comfort of my own home.”

“And how are we going to do that?”

“We’re going to wait until she needs us. She wouldn’t appreciate it if we inserted ourselves into the equation so we’ll stand back until she comes to us. I trust her, Gabe. Don’t worry.”

Back inside the McDonald’s, the twins watched the two boys stand outside. Sophie cleared her throat to get the attention of Minerva.

“So,” she began. “You think that girl is Starshock?”

“I have my suspicions,” Minerva replied. “I’m going to find out tonight.”

“Don’t get caught, dumbass.”

Minerva chuckled and smirked. “When have I ever been caught?”

~~~

Getting into the recently attacked Washington Tower was the easy part. The hard part for Violet was getting into the data room. The girl knew the elevators wouldn’t work, even if they did she wouldn’t trust them enough to travel a bit below the top floor of the building. So she settled on making her way up to the floor via the stairs. ‘It’ll be a good workout,’ her brain said. ‘Imagine the satisfaction,’ her nonexistent pride chimed in. ‘You deserve to die for your poor decision making skills,’ her aching calves screamed. 

It must’ve been either the tenth or the fifteenth floor, but Violet wanted nothing more than to drop dead. Of course the Washingtons would invest in the construction of a building so tall that using the stairs would be considered a death wish. Her calves throbbed either in pain or in anger. Both ways were valid, the blonde was insane. Yet she kept moving up the stairwell, ignoring how her calves seemed to put her on a new hit list with each step she took. 

“For Clementine,” the tired blonde thought. “You’re doing this for Clementine.”

If only the Harry Potter world was real and Violet was a witch. Wingardium Leviosa would be so fucking useful right now. Granted she would use an Unforgivable Curse on her father so maybe it was for the best that it all was purely fiction. But would it be so bad? He was a dick after all. Okay no, stop that train of thought. Pull it into the station, Vi. Don’t be such a Slytherin… even though that’s your house.

It took a while but eventually the girl reached the twenty-eighth floor. Did she want the Grim Reaper himself to appear and say to her ‘hey fam listen your clock ran out so it’s time to party in the afterlife’ as he swished his scythe around? A little bit.

She opened the stairwell door and was taken back by the scene before her. Walls were crumbling, there were cracks in the tile floor, and the chandelier that definitely cost more than her entire life was broken on the ground. What shocked the girl most were all the bloodstains and bullet holes that seemed to be in every spot imaginable. An image of what possibly went down played in her mind and she shook it away. She walked up to the doors leading to the database room and pushed, a high-pitched screech following after.

Filing cabinets were toppled over and dented, a wall had a huge crater in it, it was an even bigger mess than the previous room. Clementine told the boys and her about her fight with Striker, but she seemed to have left out the detail about breaking everything in the room. Although, she did say she was fine after walking into school with a limp, so Violet really shouldn’t be surprised. The blonde stood in front of the main computer and stuck a flash drive into the USB port.

“Let’s see what Striker was trying to ste- oh my god please organize your desktop, motherfucker,” Violet complained. 

The main computer had an avalanche of app icons and files piled on top of each other. The sight made the blonde want to ram her head into a wall. She did her best to ignore the disaster of a desktop and opened up a tracker module. Her nimble fingers danced across the keyboard as she entered numerous lines of code. She eventually found what she was looking for: a file titled Artificial Astral. She opened it and found many reports on a single star that the scientists of Washington Corporations started developing months ago. The blue star that changed Clementine.

“What…,” the girl murmured as she read over the documents in the file. 

The documents discussed the capabilities of the star and what could happen if it came into contact with anyone or anything. A few more keyboard and mouse clicks later and she was transferring the file onto her flash drive. The transfer was complete in a matter of seconds and the girl unplugged the flash drive from the computer, shoving it back into her pocket.

“I was expecting someone different,” a voice sounded from behind her. “But I could use you.”

Violet cried out when a hand twisted her arm into her back, shoving her onto the desk. Another hand came around and found its place on her neck as a way of saying “I could end your life right now”. The blonde couldn’t see her assailant, but her mind moved rapidly. She scanned her surroundings and saw the keyboard of the computer in front of her. She used her free hand to grab it and swing it behind her, making contact with the person’s jaw. The stranger cried out and loosened their grip on Violet, giving her time to break free and turn around to strike again. Her fist was raised and ready to pummel their face in but was stopped once she saw who her attacker was.

“Minnie?!” Violet gasped.

Minerva glared at the blonde from behind her black motorcycle goggles. “What? Surprised to see your ex-girlfriend?”

“Yes! Yes, I am!”

The redhead—now clad in a black leather suit with white accents—scowled. “I was expecting that wretched superhero, not your pathetic ass!”

Minnie reached for Violet again and grabbed a handful of her blonde locks, dragging her behind her as she kicked and screamed out profanities. 

“GET THE FUCK OFF OF ME, YOU CRAZY BITCH!”

A dark chuckle came from the redhead. “I’m going to use you for my little experiment. You know that light show hero don’t you?”

“What?!”

“Clementine Everett. Is that who’s behind the mask?”

Violet’s resistance ceased and her face turned into one of pure shock. She found out? How? How the hell did she find out? Wait… why did she want to know in the first place? Did she want to hurt Clementine. No. No, she won’t. Not while Violet was still alive.

“Don’t touch her, you psychopath,” the blonde growled.

“Oh trust me, Violet,” Minnie replied. “I’m the least of your concerns. But of course Little Miss Popular became the good person. What? Did you upgrade from cat burglars to superheroes?”

“Excuse me?”

“Oh I didn’t tell you?”

“No! You just fucking left me without telling me why!”

“I found a new love. Crime. Remember that priceless diamond that went missing three years ago? That was my doing. Anyway, we talked long enough. Say hi to Clementine for me. If she catches you that is.”

The redhead lifted the blonde and threw her out of the nearby window. The sound of glass breaking filled her ears and her stomach was sent up her chest as the wind whipped past her. Her hair flew in front of her face and her hand instinctively reached out, grabbing nothing but air. The tower walls zipped by at tremendous speed as she inched closer to the concrete below. This was it. This was going to be the end of Violet Johnson. She closed her eyes and watched as her life flashed before her eyes, she felt tears prickle at the corners of her eyes. Her grandmother was going to be devastated by the news of her death. 

“Please,” Violet internally begged. “I can’t leave. Don’t do this. I don’t want to go. I still have so much more to do. I still have to sing La Vie En Rose with Louis. I still have to apologize to Gabe for yelling at him about his room. I still have to tell Clementine that-“

A pair of arms wrapped around her and she felt her descent and turn into an ascent. She opened her eyes and saw a masked girl with curly brown hair carrying her. Clementine. She was as bright and beautiful as Aphrodite herself, and not because of her aura.

The brunette smirked at her damsel in distress. “Falling for me already, Tinkerbell?”

The blonde blushed madly. “No!”

Clementine went to speak once more when she was interrupted by a tiny metal ball landing on her shoulder. Four needles shot out from it and stabbed themselves into her flesh. Red jolts shot out from the ball and the brunette cried out in pain. The aura surrounding her shut off and the two girls started falling. Her arms went limp and lost their grip on Violet as more pain traversed through her body. Violet quickly grabbed her hand to keep her near and started digging around her toolbelt in hopes that Charles made something that could be useful right now. She pulled out a metal orb that appeared to contain a net and threw it at the ground. Upon impact, a large net shot out and the two girls landed safely on it.

Violet crawled over to Clementine and yanked the ball out of her shoulder, cradling the nearly unconscious girl to her. “Stay awake, Clem!”

Clementine groaned and from somewhere Minerva’s laugh rang out. “You like it? It messes with her superhuman DNA. It causes everything to go vicious and attack the host. I call them Molecular Parasites.”

The blonde growled and held the weak superhero tighter. “FUCK OFF!”

Retreating footsteps followed a laugh and soon Violet was alone with Clementine. She brushed her thumb across her cheek as she breathed heavily, her eyes closed. 

“Don’t worry, Clem,” she spoke, picking the girl up and carrying her bridal style. “You’re gonna be okay. I’ve got you.”

With that, the girl began her trek to the home of Louis Washington to help Clementine Everett.


	9. No Harm in Slow Dancing

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trigger warning for this chapter! Mention of abuse. Just a mention though, no details.
> 
> Also Clementine finally gets the brain cell.

Gabe and Louis sat in the living room of the Washington Mansion. A game of Monopoly was set up on the table between them. Gabe had little property owned while Louis had a lot. The García boy rolled the dice, groaning when he landed on Marvin Gardens and had to pay Louis twenty-four dollars in Monopoly money. The other teenager rolled the dice and started moving his piece.

Gabe gasped. “No.”

Louis kept moving his piece, passing the green properties.

“Don’t you dare, Louis.”

Bam. He stopped his piece on the jackpot. Boardwalk. Louis smirked at Gabe. “This is my property now.”

Gabe groaned and nearly tossed the board. “I hate capitalism!”

“You have all the railroads!”

“Railroads don’t mean shit when your opponent owns nearly everything! I’ve nearly gone bankrupt twice!”

Louis was about to retaliate when the front door slammed open. In a panic, Gabe threw the board at the intruder and latched onto Louis who latched onto him as well. They both screamed their heads off and backed into a corner. Another door from inside the house slammed open and Charles ran out swinging a soaking wet mop with wild abandon, ready to beat the shit out of whoever came in. Turns out it was just Violet who still had an unconscious Clementine in her arms and was now wondering if she needed new friends.

Charles cleared his throat and casually set the mop down. “Miss Violet, what seems to be the problem with Miss Clementine?”

“She was hit with something! I don’t really understand it all that much, but it did something to her! She was in pain and now she won’t wake up!”

Gabe ran over in a panic. “What do you mean?! What happened?!”

Violet’s expression grew sour. “It was fucking Minerva!”

“Minerva?!” Louis gasped. “What are you on about, Vi?”

“She’s this fucking cat burgular bitch! I think she wanted to do something to Clementine! She threw me out a fucking window, sending me to my death, when Clementine saved me and Minnie threw this tiny ass ball at her that messed with her DNA or some shit! That’s what she said it did!”

Charles walked up to Violet and held out his arms, waiting for the blonde to hand him the superhuman. She tensed up a bit and her grip on the brunette grew tighter. She gazed at him with an apprehensive look and he only returned it with a gentle one. The girl reluctantly gave the unconscious teenager to him and he nodded, turning around and walking off to the basement. Violet went to follow but Louis stepped in front of her.

“She’ll be okay, Vi,” Louis softly told his best friend. “You don’t need to worry.”

“I don’t need to worry?” Violet growled. “Louis, people want to kill her! She risks her life out there and I never know if there’s a day where she doesn’t come back! It scares me! And to make matters worse, Minnie knows her secret identity! Who’s to say that no one else will find out?!”

Louis let the girl release some steam and then he gingerly enveloped her in a hug. She fought back a bit but eventually accepted it.

“It’s okay to worry, but you need to have faith in her,” he spoke. “It scares all of us, but I know it scares you especially. I know how you feel about her.”

“Everything is just so fucked.”

“Well, unlike you,” Louis pulled away from the blonde and flashed her a warm smile. “I believe that everything is coming together. She’ll take all those bastards down. Powers or no powers, she will. Just watch. And then you two can start being a-“

“S-shut up…,” Violet told her best friend, her face now redder than ever.

“I’ll shut up but that won’t stop me from making shirts or bracelets.”

“You wouldn’t.”

“I’m your best friend and number one shipper! It’s my job!”

Gabe cleared his throat. “I don’t mean to ruin the moment, but did you find anything at Washington Tower, Violet?”

The blonde’s eyes widened and she fished a flash drive out of her pocket. “I did. Louis, I need your laptop.”

“Way ahead of you,” the boy proclaimed with a charming smile. He reached over the back of the couch and showed his laptop. “I was going to force Gabe to watch How To Train Your Dragon after our game of Monopoly.”

Violet snatched the laptop from Louis and opened it, ignoring Gabe grumble something about capitalism. She entered his password and inserted the flash drive into the USB port. The girl clicked on a file and opened her copy of Artificial Astral. She clicked on one of the lab reports and gestured to the screen. Louis and Gabe both got closer to read the text on the screen.

“One major hypothesis regarding this experiment,” Gabe read out loud. “Is that if contact is made with either machinery or a human, a great surge of power will overcome it. A machine would run better than ever and a human would become something greater if they survive the merging process.”

Louis’s mouth was agape. “So, those people want to use Clementine to power something?”

Violet nodded. “I believe so.”

“If that’s the case,” the García boy continued. “Then what are they trying to power?”

“Your guess is as good as mine. But whatever it is, it can’t be good. We have to protect Clem.”

“She’s not going to like that, Violet.”

“She doesn’t have a choice. I won’t stand by and watch as she gets put in danger every goddamn day because some asshole wants to use her powers for world domination or some shit.”

Louis puffed his chest. “I won’t stand by either. Gabe, you’re either with us or not with us.”

Gabe shook his head. Clementine was always one to take on everything by herself, even more so now since she’s not exactly your average teenager anymore. The boy was almost certain she was even losing sleep because of it. 

The boy looked at his two friends with a newfound determination. “I’m with you.”

~~~

Abel stared as Lilly screamed profanities at the wall. He lazily checked his watch and noticed that her temper tantrum had been going on for about ten minutes. It was starting to get boring. He was about to question if she was under the influence of something other than pure anger.

“You done?” He flatly asked.

The brunette whipped around to face him with rage. “SHUT YOUR FUCKING MOUTH!”

“That wouldn’t be the first time you’ve told me to do that.”

“ABEL!”

“I was just wanting to know what our next move is.”

That seemed to calm the crazed woman down as she thought it over. Their next move had to be a good one. The girl was more advanced than they thought she was. 

A smirk crossed her features as their next move came to her. “Send in King Neuro.”

~~~

When Clementine awoke, her head felt like it was recently stomped on by Hagrid from Harry Potter. Or Chiron from Percy Jackson. Either one worked.

She sat up on the couch and noticed two things. One: she was in the basement of Louis’s house. Two: Violet was asleep in the chair next to her. The blonde looked cute as she slept, but Clementine wasn’t going to stare. That was creepy.

She looked down at her suit and growled as the events from before came back to her. Stupid little ball thing. Clementine hated it with a burning passion. The last thing she remembers is the feeling of it being yanked from her shoulder, giving her near immediate relief from such tremendous pain. 

The brunette looked around and noticed a set of clothes on a desk with a note next to it. She slowly stood up and made her way to them, careful not to wake Violet up. Sloppy handwriting was etched onto the yellow post-it note, yet Clementine could read it perfectly.

‘Take this and be a civilian for once! -The Bestest Friend and García’

Clementine chuckled to herself and picked up the clothes, changing into them behind a shelf full of folders. She had just finished tucking her tank top into her shorts when she heard the sleeping blonde stir. The brunette walked back over to the desk and set her suit down.

“You know,” she started as she put on her signature hat. “I didn’t expect to wake up to company.”

Violet blushed. “I… uhhh-“

“Calm down. I appreciate it,” Clementine chuckled. “I was in pretty bad shape.”

The blonde rubbed the back of her neck. “Um… you’re welcome, I guess.”

“Anyway, I have to find that bastard who injured me.”

“It was Minerva.”

“Well then I have to find Minerva.”

Violet stood up and blocked Clementine from leaving. “Yea, that’s a no.”

The brunette scowled. “Excuse me?”

“You’re not doing any superhero work.”

“Says who?”

“Says me, Clem. You work too hard. You barely even have time to be a normal teenager.”

“In case you haven’t noticed,” Clementine began. “I’m not a normal teenager. Not anymore.”

“Not with that attitude,” Violet commented. “Come on! Lighten up for once! Ignore the fact that you’re this badass charged with immense energy and have some fun!”

Clementine sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. “Fine. What do you have in mind?”

The blonde smirked and pulled out her phone. She tapped the screen a few times and set it down on the nearby desk. A song that sent Clementine into a state of nostalgia played through the phone’s speakers at full volume. It was Dirty Little Secret by The All-American Rejects.

Violet turned to Clementine and smiled. “Dance with me, Glimmer Fists.”

The brunette giggled softly. “Glimmer Fists?”

“I had to come up with something since you constantly call me Tinkerbell. You’re Glimmer Fists. No exceptions.”

“Fine, I’m Glimmer Fists.”

“Now dance. Have some fun.”

Clementine gave in to Violet’s request and started dancing to the song. Her body went on autopilot and she found herself moving in sync with the beat. A bright smile made its way to her lips as she felt all her worries wash away in that moment. All those responsibilities she gave herself? All those burdens? Gone. All thanks to Violet’s persistence.

Without thinking, the brunette grabbed the blonde’s hands and started swinging them around between them. A small laugh rang out to meet her own and she found the blonde laughing, her smile wide. The sight and sound were both something she found to be beautiful. Her green eyes shone with such happiness that it made the superpowered teen feel complete. Her laugh could easily be compared to the feeling a child got upon seeing their presents on Christmas morning, or when they first visit Disney World. It filled the brunette with immense admiration and joy. Violet was happy, so Clementine was happy. 

The two girls barely heard the song changing into a slow one. They abruptly stopped their upbeat dancing once they noticed the change. Clementine was about to go change the song when she noticed Violet stick her hand out, looking down and rubbing the back of her neck with the other.

“You don’t have to,” she began. “I know it’s stupid, but I just figured… nevermind, forget it-”

The superhuman softly smiled and cut her off by grabbing her hand and lacing their fingers together. “What’s the harm in slow dancing?”

The blonde smiled and placed her hands on Clementine’s shoulders as she placed her own hands on her waist. The two swayed to the song almost naturally, clearly enjoying their time together. They didn’t know if they were doing it right, but they didn’t seem to care. All they cared about was each other. They gazed at each other with such warmth that someone could find it sickening and melt. 

“You know,” Violet began. “I never got to thank you.”

“For what?” 

“For saving me.”

“It’s my job to save every damsel in distress. That’s including men, by the way.”

“I know it’s your job but still. I wanted to thank you. So thank you.”

“Just try not to do it again. I don’t want you dying on me.”

That comment made the blonde chuckle. “I could say the same to you, Glimmer Fists.”

Her happiness was short-lived however. Her face dropped and she let go of the brunette, crossing her arms as an attempt to close herself off. She walked over to her phone and turned the music off.

Clementine gazed at her with concern. “Is everything okay?”

She seemed to take a long inhale before turning to face her again. “I guess I should tell you everything, since you know nothing about me.”

“You don’t really know anything about me either.”

“I know a fair amount.”

“Like?”

“You have a little brother named AJ.”

“And?”

“You’re Starshock.”

“I was expecting something along the line of ‘you like apples’ but that works too.”

“...Do you like apples?”

“Oh one hundred percent.”

That made the blonde smile a bit. It was quick to disappear though. Her thoughts came back to her and she remembered why she constantly wore an invisible shield. 

“I know before we met that I came off as a loner,” she began. “That I didn’t like people. I don’t even know why Louis stuck around, but I’m glad he did. Him and I have known each other since first grade. I… I didn’t exactly have a picture perfect childhood. We lived in a trailer. My dad was an alcoholic and my mom worked three jobs so I never got to see her. My life was so fucked. My dad… he… he would yell at me, beat me… all because he couldn’t lay off the fucking booze. My grandma found out, took my dad to court, the judge deemed both of my parents unfit to raise me, so now she has full custody over me and my dad is in prison for child abuse. I was seven when it happened.”

Clementine was in shock. She didn’t expect Violet’s childhood to have been so rough. She couldn’t imagine how she felt. She gently grabbed her hand, rubbing her thumb over the back of it.

Violet sighed. “In middle school, I met Sophie and Minerva. I didn’t know why but everything felt different whenever I was around Minnie. I found out I was a lesbian in seventh grade and we started dating in eighth grade. I was happy with her. Then she started pushing me away in Freshman year. She came up to me during lunch one day, said we were done, then left. Louis had to comfort me for two weeks.”

“That was shitty of her,” Clem spoke.

“Yea well, it happened. And I wouldn’t want to change it because…”

“...because?”

“Nothing. Forget it. Tell me about your childhood now.”

The brunette raised an eyebrow at the blonde for dodging the topic. Because of what? What was so important yet private to her? She merely shook it off and put it behind her.

“Lee found out he couldn’t have kids of his own so he adopted me,” she started. “My biological mom died in childbirth and my dad died before I was born. He’s a great guy. I remember every Friday we’d make a pillow fort in our living room and watch Disney movies while eating popcorn with M&M’s. His favorite is Finding Nemo while mine is The Lion King. Anyway, I took on baseball at a young age due to Coach García being my neighbor, that’s how I met Gabe. A few years later, Lee adopted AJ and the Friday night Disney movie marathons began once more. He’s a pain in the ass but I love him.”

“That sounds nice,” Violet commented. “But here’s a question: when did you find out you were bisexual?”

“I was trying to remember a show I watched when I was younger so I Googled it and saw that it was H2O: Just Add Water. I was looking at the characters and I found both Rikki and Zane hot. So then I realized I was bi.”

“Valid.”

“Damn right it is.”

Clementine smiled. She was happy that today happened. Not because she got zapped by a munchkin ball, but because she learned so much about Violet. She didn’t know why but her heart felt full just from being in her presence. There was something about Violet that made her feel like a better version of herself. There was just something about her laugh, her striking green eyes, and her adorable face that made her stomach do flips and her heart feel like it’s going to beat right out of her chest. 

She remembered her story about Minnie and how she felt different with her. How she found out she was a lesbian and started dating her a year later. Violet had a crush on Minnie, she loved Minnie. That’s how she realized she wasn’t straight. 

The story made Clementine start questioning her own words and actions. She enjoyed Violet’s smile. She enjoyed her laugh. She absolutely loved how red her face would get whenever she’d throw a tiny quip her way. Her chest swelled with pride whenever she called her Tinkerbell. She felt flattered upon hearing Violet call her Glimmer Fists, yet it made her weak at the same time. Finally, she was more than happy to dance with the girl. Dancing with her made her feel more alive. It gave her a better rush than the wind that whipped past her mid flight as she soared high above the city. Violet made her feel different, and she finally knew why.

These feelings weren’t platonic. They weren’t a sign of your average friendship. They were the telltale signs of a crush. Of a deep, romantic love towards someone. Clementine Everett had a crush on Violet Johnson, and it was the best thing in the world.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tumblr: protegoparacosm  
> (I’m just gonna put my Tumblr in the end notes from now on in case anyone wants to talk to me about this fic or anything else in regards to it)


End file.
